This medication has been prescribed because your healthcare provider has judged that the benefits are greater than the risk of side effects. Many people using this medication do not have serious side effects. 

Serious side effects can of Zytiga include:

• High blood pressure (hypertension), low blood potassium levels (hypokalemia) and fluid retention (edema). Symptoms include:
  • dizziness
  • confusion
  • fast heartbeats
  • muscle weakness
  • feel faint or lightheaded
  • pain in the legs
  • headache
  • swelling in the legs or feet

If any of these symptoms occur, refer back to your prescribing healthcare professional or pharmacist as soon as possible.

The most common side effects of Zytiga include:

• weakness
• joint swelling or pain
• swelling in your legs or feet
• hot flushes
• diarrhea
• vomiting
• coughing
• high blood pressure
• shortness of breath
• urinary tract infection
• bruising
• certain abnormal blood test results, including low red blood cells (anemia) and low blood potassium levels, high blood sugar levels, high blood cholesterol and triglycerides

If these persist or get worse, consult with your prescribing healthcare provider or pharmacist.

Zytiga is used to treat men diagnosed with prostate cancer that is resistant to medical or surgical treatments that aim to lower testosterone levels, and that has spread to other parts of the body (metastasized). It is prescribed along with prednisone.

Metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer accounts for approximately 3% of all new prostate cancer diagnoses in the US.

Previously, androgen-deprivation therapy was the standard of care. Although the majority of patients have a beneficial initial response, most men with metastases have progressed to castration-resistant prostate cancer within approximately one year.

Abiraterone acetate in combination with prednisone has been shown to significantly increase overall survival and provide an additional potential role for inhibiting extragonadal androgen biosynthesis before the emergence of castration resistance in men with newly diagnosed metastatic CSPC.