Background

• 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.

References

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• Chavez ML. PC-SPES for the treatment of prostate cancer? J Herb Pharmacother 2002;2(3):73-89.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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