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WESTPORT, Mar 29 (Reuters Health) - PC-SPES, an herbal dietary supplement, significantly reduces pain and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in men with hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

These effects translate into an "overall improvement" in patients' quality of life, according to Dr. B. L. Pfeifer, of the University of Kentucky, in Lexington, and colleagues.

Writing in the March issue of the British Journal of Urology International, these investigators say that PC-SPES contains extracts from eight herbs: Chrysanthemum morifolium, Ganoderma lucidum, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Isatis indigotica, Panax pseudoginseng, Rabdosia rubescens, Scutellaria baicalensis and Serenoa repens.

Anecdotal reports have suggested that the supplement relieves metastatic pain, reduces PSA levels and improves quality of life in men with hormone-refractory prostate cancer. To investigate the effects of PC-SPES in a controlled setting, Dr. Pfeifer and colleagues prescribed the supplement to 16 men with hormone-refractory prostate cancer. All the men took the supplement, 2.88 g daily, for 5 months while continuing hormonal therapy.

After 5 months, the men demonstrated "highly significant" reductions in pain scores and a greater than 40% reduction in analgesic use. In addition, most patients' serum PSA levels decreased significantly by more than 50%.

"The observed pain relief reported by the present patients was associated with an overall improvement in their quality of life," the investigators say. "Better ambulation, more energy and increased appetite were reported by 15 patients." In addition, "PC-SPES [had] a low side-effect profile."

While further study is needed to assess the long-term effects of PC-SPES, the new findings "support the anecdotal reports of the beneficial effects of PC-SPES as a comparable alternative to current management regimens in hormone-refractory prostate cancer," Dr. Pfeifer and colleagues conclude.

Br J Urol Int 2000;85:481-485.