- PC-SPES® is a dietary supplement that was sold for the treatment of prostate cancer. The letters "PC" stand for "prostate cancer," and spes is Latin for hope.
- PC-SPES® was described as a Chinese herbal formula containing Serenoa repens (saw palmetto) and seven other herbs: Chrysanthemum
morifolium (chrysanthemum, mum, Chu-hua), Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi mushroom, Ling Zhi), Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice), Isatis indigotica Fortune (dyer's wood, Da Qing Ye), Panax pseudo-ginseng (San Qi), Rabdosia rubescens (rubescens, Dong Ling Cao), and Scutellaria baicalensis (skullcap, Huang-chin). PC-SPES® was recalled from the U.S. market in 2002, because it was found to contain the undeclared prescription drugs indomethacin (a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)), warfarin (a blood thinner), and the female hormones diethylstilbestrol (DES) and ethinyl estradiol. Similar herbal products without these pharmaceuticals have since been reformulated and reintroduced to the market.
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ingredients
PC-SPES®
Contents
- Chaudhary UB, Rashid M, Keane TE. PC-SPES withdrawal response. Acta Oncol 2004;43(8):772-3.
View Abstract - Chavez ML. PC-SPES for the treatment of prostate cancer? J Herb Pharmacother 2002;2(3):73-89.
View Abstract - Das P, Kaplan I. The role of PC-SPES, selenium, and vitamin E in prostate cancer. Oncology (Williston Park) 2002;16(3):285-91; discussion 291, 295-6, 299-300.
View Abstract - Du G, Zhang ZW, Zhang YK, et al. [Chinese herbal medicine PC-SPES II induces the apoptosis of androgen-independent prostate carcinoma cell line PC-3]. Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue 2007;13(6):563-7.
View Abstract - Ikezoe T, Yang Y, Saitoh T, et al. PC-SPES down-regulates COX-2 via inhibition of NF-kappaB and C/EBPbeta in non-small cell lung cancer cells. Int J Oncol 2006;29(2):453-61.
View Abstract - Jensen JB, Langkilde NC. [PC-SPES and ProstaSol: Chinese herbal medicine as a treatment for prostate cancer]. Ugeskr Laeger 2004;166(50):4611-2.
View Abstract - Kosty MP. PC-SPES: hope or hype? J Clin Oncol 2004;22(18):3657-9.
View Abstract - Lee CO. Complementary and alternative medicine patients are talking about: PC-SPES. Clin J Oncol Nurs 2005;9(1):113-4.
View Abstract - Liu JJ, Huang RW, Lin DJ, et al. Ponicidin, an ent-kaurane diterpenoid derived from a constituent of the herbal supplement PC-SPES, Rabdosia rubescens, induces apoptosis by activation of caspase-3 and mitochondrial events in lung cancer cells in vitro. Cancer Invest 2006;24(2):136-48.
View Abstract - Meyer JP, Gillatt DA. PC-SPES: a herbal therapy for the treatment of hormone refractory prostate cancer. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 2002;5(1):13-5.
View Abstract - Oh WK, Kantoff PW, Weinberg V, et al. Prospective, multicenter, randomized phase II trial of the herbal supplement, PC-SPES, and diethylstilbestrol in patients with androgen-independent prostate cancer. J Clin Oncol 2004;22(18):3705-12.
View Abstract - Olsson C. PC-Spes rears its head again! Curr Urol Rep 2004;5(3):149.
View Abstract - Sadava D, Winesburg J. Contaminants of PC-SPES are not responsible for cytotoxicity in human small-cell lung carcinoma cells. Cancer Lett 2005;220(2):171-5.
View Abstract - Schmidt M, Polednik C, Gruensfelder P, et al. The effects of PC-Spes on chemosensitive and chemoresistant head and neck cancer cells and primary mucosal keratinocytes. Oncol Rep 2009;21(5):1297-305.
View Abstract - Walsh PC. Prospective, multicenter, randomized phase II trial of the herbal supplement, PC-SPES, and diethylstilbestrol in patients with androgen-independent prostate cancer. J Urol 2005;173(6):1966-7.
View Abstract
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