Abiraterone is usually taken by 4 x 250 mg tabs on an empty stomach, to reduce potential side effects. This means that upwards of 90% of the drug is eliminated unused by the body. It is known that food (particularly fatty foods), enhance the uptake of the drug. I normally take my abiraterone between 2.00 and 4.00 am (when I get up for a pee!), but have recently been thinking of taking only 3 tabs at this time and the 4th with my last meal of the day.
I have been on Abiraterone for about 32 months and so far my liver function blood test are all good.
Has anyone experience of taking Abiraterone with food?
All advice welcome.
Niall
Written by
NiallMcC
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
When I was taking Zytiga, i first took it before eating as prescribed. However, it wasn't that effective so my oncologist had me take all four tablets with a light meal. That increased the effectiveness of the drug and I had no additional side effects and my liver function remained normal.
at one time I was taking zytiga just as you do, in early morn when I get up to satisfy fasting goals. When it stopped working my Oncologist said that often when zytiga becomes not effective often the absorption of zytiga is found to be way low, so it was suggested that I would do it with food, so for 8 months I had fried potatoes and a 2 egg cheese omlette and then ate all four zytiga pills, immediately followed by some high fat yogurt, this did work for 8 months and did not affect my liver numbers in the slightest. My Oncologist said that they had several Men doing it this way and that it often worked for an extra 10 months or more. This was really the first time I had eating eggs for breakfast in a 10 years. I wish you the best
Thank you Dan. I think I will proceed to taking with food. I am intrigued that you still eat dairy. This has been one of the hardest things for me as I have given up dairy and I was a cheeseaholic!
Niall, for many years I avoided dairy, and had oatmeal for breakfast, however when I needed to use a high fat breakfast to increase absorption, I saw no other option. I need to get back on the right track. best to you
[1] (2015) "Nineteen men who switched AA administration from without food to with food and 41 patients who administered AA without food only were included in the study. Of those patients who took AA with food at PSA progression, a PSA decline was observed in 3 of the 19 (16%) men, including 3 of the 14 men who had an initial response to AA (21%). Testosterone declined in five out of seven patients from pre-food levels. The median time on AA therapy was increased by nearly 100 days in patients who switched AA administration from without food to with food. No increases in toxicity were observed."
[2] (2015) "Food effects on abiraterone pharmacokinetics in healthy subjects and patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer."
[3] (2016 - Belgium) "The Effect of Food on the Intraluminal Behavior of Abiraterone Acetate in Man."
I'm using it without food, but I thank you all for the information. I never knew any of this and I'm always reading. I assumed you take it without food for maximum absorption.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
NUBEQA “take with food”…how much?
35 Days Of Taking Zytiga With Food
1 Year after taking Zytiga (Abiraterone) PSA from 750 to 54 
abiraterone
New manufacturer for Abiraterone, Celltrion
