Study of Acai Juice in Asymptomatic or Minimally Symptomatic Prostate Cancer Patients With Rising PSA

In this study, patients who meet eligibility criteria will take Acai Juice 2 ounces by mouth twice daily on a continuous basis.

Inclusion criteria

• Histologically confirmed prostate adenocarcinoma.
• Evidence of rising PSA, on 2 separate occasions, at least one week apart.
• Baseline PSA must be ≥ 0.2 ng/mL at the time of screening. Radiographic evidence of disease is not required.
• Patients must have sufficient PSA time points prior to enrollment (a minimum of 3 PSA levels within a six month period) to calculate a baseline PSA doubling time.
• Patients may not be on active Luteinizing Hormone Releasing Hormone (LHRH) agonist therapy and must have testosterone level > 50 ng/dL.
• Patients must not be on active anti-androgen therapy or 5-alpha reductase inhibitors. However, patients who have been on a stable dose of 5-alpha reductase inhibitor for benign prostatic hypertrophy for at least 6 months may continue taking this agent.
• Patients who are on active surveillance for localized disease may participate in this study.
• Patients who are candidates for local salvage therapy must have had this option pursued or discussed; and the patient must have either declined salvage therapy or was deemed not to be a candidate for salvage therapy.
• Patients who have PSA recurrence after local salvage therapy may participate in this study.
• Patients with hormone sensitive disease who received prior androgen deprivation therapy as part of primary/salvage local treatment or patients receiving intermittent androgen deprivation therapy will be allowed to participate.
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-2.
• Adequate hematologic function (absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1,500 cells/µL; hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dL, platelets ≥ 75,000/µL).
• Adequate renal function (serum creatinine ≤ 2 X the ULN).
• Adequate hepatic function (total bilirubin ≤ 2 x upper limit of normal (ULN), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 3 x ULN, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤ 3 x ULN).
• Agree not to take any other forms of natural or herbal supplements during study duration.
• Chemotherapy for prostate cancer is allowed as long as it was not given for hormone-refractory disease.

Exclusion criteria

• Inability to swallow liquids, or any medical condition that interferes with normal gastrointestinal absorption.
• Major surgery, radiation, or treatment with any other investigational drug within 2 weeks of study treatment.
• Documented hypersensitivity reaction to acai or any product contained in Acai Juice (see complete list in Appendix 1).
• Uncontrolled intercurrent disease (e.g. diabetes, hypertension, thyroid disease, coronary artery disease).
• Known chronic infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or viral hepatitis.
• Symptomatic prostate cancer as determined by cancer-related pain requiring narcotic pain medication.
• History of another cancer is exclusionary unless it is believed to be likely cured or is unlikely to be fatal in the next 3 years (e.g. squamous cell carcinoma, superficial bladder cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, etc).
• Very fast PSA doubling time of less than 4 weeks, if the absolute PSA is > 2 ng/mL.