Capsaicin may slow PSA doubling time: case report and literature review

Abstract

Capsaicin is the main pungent component of chili peppers. Thisis the first case, to our knowledge, that describes prostatespecificantigen (PSA) stabilization in a patient with prostate cancer,who had biochemical failure after radiation therapy. A 66-year-old male underwent radiotherapy treatment for a T2b, Gleason7 (3+4) adenocarcinoma of the prostate, with a PSA level of13.3 ng/mL in April 2001. He had 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapyof 46 Gy in 23 fractions to the prostate and pelvis, and aprostate boost of 30 Gy in 15 fractions. Radiotherapy was completedin May 2001 and PSA nadired in January 2002 (0.57). Dueto the continued PSA rise, the patient was started on bicalutamide(50 mg orally, daily) and leuprolide acetate (1 dose of 22.5 mgintramuscularly) in July 2005 when PSA was 38.5 ng/mL. Due topoor tolerance of androgen ablation therapy, the patient discontinuedtreatment and started taking 2.5 mL of habaneros chilisauce, containing capsaicin, 1 to 2 times a week in April 2006.Prostate-specific antigen doubling time (PSAdt) increased from4 weeks before capsaicin to 7.3 months by October 2006. FromOctober 2006 until November 2007, the patient remained oncapsaicin (2.5 to 15 mL daily) and his PSA was stable (between11 to 14 ng/mL). By January 2008, his PSA rose to 22.3 and hehas maintained a PSAdt between 4 and 5 months, where it presentlyremains. Due to the patient’s continued PSA rise, he was restartedon bicalutamide (12.5 mg daily). Apart from PSA relapse, the patientremains free of signs or symptoms of recurrence.

Capsaicin reduces the metastatic burden in the transgenic adenocarcinoma of the mouse prostate model

“…Unfortunately, there are also very few clinical or epidemiological studies that examine the effect of orally ingested capsaicin on cancer progression. However, one promising case-study by Jankovic et al, describes a prostate cancer patient consuming a 2.5 ml of habaneros chilli sauce, containing capsaicin (calculated to be 454 mg/ml), twice weekly,experienced a stabilization in his prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels, suggesting that the therapeutic effects of capsaicin on prostate cancer can be achieved by oral consumption of capsaicin [12]. The serum concentration of capsaicin of this patient was not reported in this case study.…”

Lycopene enhances the anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of capsaicin in prostate cancer in vitro

“…A recent case study reported by Jankovic et al, [17] describes a 66-year-old patient with prostate cancer who experienced significant improvement in his PSA levels upon daily consumption of capsaicin. Cessation of the capsaicin was followed by a sharp increase in his PSA levels (challenge/re-challenge effect) and PSA trends suggesting a dose-response relationship [17].…”

The Potential Antitumor Effects of Capsaicin

“…However, it has recently been reported a case of a patient with recurrent adenocarcinoma of the prostate with Gleason grade 7, who experienced a slowing of his prostate-specific antigen doubling time while taking capsaicin (Jankovic et al 2010). …”