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JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2002 94(17):1266-1268; doi:10.1093/jnci/94.17.1266
© 2002 by Oxford University Press
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Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 94, No. 17, 1266-1268, September 4, 2002
© 2002 Oxford University Press

NEWS

Contamination of PC-SPES Remains a Mystery

Tom Reynolds

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

For thousands of prostate cancer patients who did not respond to standard treatments, the herbal preparation PC-SPES seemed to offer the last, best hope for a remission of their disease. And for researchers, PC-SPES appeared poised to become the first cancer treatment to emerge from the realm of alternative medicine, pass rigorous clinical testing, and add a powerful natural weapon to the oncologist’s arsenal.

Now, patients and researchers are left wondering what went wrong. In February, PC-SPES—labeled as a mixture of seven Chinese herbs plus saw palmetto—was taken off the market by its manufacturer, BotanicLab of Brea, Calif., after tests by the California Department of Health Services showed it contained the prescription drug warfarin, a blood thinner. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advised men to stop taking it.

Independently, other scientists found that PC-SPES also contained diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic estrogen once used to treat prostate cancer. Another herbal . . . [Full Text of this Article]


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