Complementary and alternative medicine patients are talking about: PC-SPES.

Digital Object Identifier: 10.1188/05.CJON.113-114 PC-SPES is an herbal supplement containing eight Chinese herbs (see Table 1). PC stands for prostate cancer, and spes is Latin for hope. PC-SPES was formulated according to traditional Chinese medicine principles involving ingredients that may counteract cytotoxic agents, minimize toxicity, and reduce the development of drug resistance in target cells (Hsieh, Lu, Chea, & Wu, 2002). PC-SPES experienced widespread use from 1996 until 2002, when the California Department of Health Services Food and Drug Branch discovered warfarin (Coumadin, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, New York, NY) and alprazolam in PC-SPES samples (U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA], 2002). Separate independent laboratory analyses also discovered diethylstilbesterol (also known as DES) in some samples. At that time, PC-SPES was active in clinical trial until it was recalled by the FDA and voluntarily withdrawn from the market.