Itraconazole is an antifungal medication that has been studied as a medication for prostate cancer and lung cancer in a small number of patients.

How can itraconazole help you? What the research says

We summarize the clinical evidence for each medical benefit here. We begin with our assessment of the strength of evidence within each category, followed by a brief summary of individual studies or reviews of several studies. In assessing the strength of evidence, we consider the study design, number of participants, and the size of the treatment effect (how much outcomes changed with treatment).

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Improving treatment outcomes

Is itraconazole linked to improved survival? Is it linked to less cancer growth or metastasis? Does it enhance the anticancer action of other treatments or therapies? We present the evidence.

Lung cancer

People with progressive non-small cell lung cancer who were treated with itraconazole showed a better response to chemotherapy in two small studies.

Prostate cancer

People with prostate cancer that was resistant to hormone therapy taking a higher dose of itraconazole showed slower progression than people taking a lower dose in one study.

Keep reading about itraconazole

Author

Sophie Kakarala

Research Assistant
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Sophie received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Cambridge, where she studied Middle Eastern languages and the philosophy of science. She then completed a premedical post-baccalaureate at the City University of New York. Before joining CancerChoices, she worked for several years at the Cornell Center for Research on End-of-Life Care, where she helped to conduct research on terminal illness and grief. Working in end-of-life research filled her with the conviction that all patients deserve free, accessible, and scientifically accurate information about the therapies available to them. While taking classes in anthropology, she also became curious about traditional medical knowledge and philosophies. These interests led her to CancerChoices. She is delighted to be part of CancerChoices’s work creating rigorous, evidence-based treatment guides for patients and physicians.

Sophie Kakarala Research Assistant

Reviewers

Laura Pole, MSN, RN, OCNS

Senior Clinical Consultant
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Laura Pole is senior clinical consultant for CancerChoices. Laura is an oncology clinical nurse specialist who has been providing integrative oncology clinical care, navigation, consultation, and education services for over 40 years. She is the co-creator and co-coordinator of the Integrative Oncology Navigation Training at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts in Washington, DC. Laura also manages the “Media Watch Cancer News That You Can Use” listserv for Smith Center/Commonweal. In her role as a palliative care educator and consultant, Laura has served as statewide Respecting Choices Faculty for the Virginia POST (Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment) Collaborative as well as provided statewide professional education on palliative and end-of-life care for the Virginia Association for Hospices and Palliative Care.

For CancerChoices, Laura curates content and research, networks with clinical and organizational partners, brings awareness and education of integrative oncology at professional and patient conferences and programs, and translates research into information relevant to the patient experience as well as clinical practice.

Laura sees her work with CancerChoices as a perfect alignment of all her passions, knowledge and skills in integrative oncology care. She is honored to serve you.

Laura Pole, MSN, RN, OCNS Senior Clinical Consultant

Alissa Huston received her medical degree at the University of Buffalo, and went on to complete an Internal Medicine residency at Strong Memorial Hospital. She then attended the University of Pittsburgh for her Hematology/Oncology fellowship, during which time she was involved in research involving bone metastasis in cancer.

Currently, she is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Wilmot Cancer Institute at the University of Rochester, where her clinical efforts are focused on breast cancer. She is also the Co-Medical Director of the Pluta Integrative Oncology & Wellness Center. Her research efforts focus on understanding the effects of treatment for breast cancer upon bone health and how integrative modalities can help mitigate symptoms for cancer patients as they undergo treatment.

She is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Society for Integrative Oncology. Her philosophy is that there is no singular approach to patient care. Even though many patients may carry the same diagnosis, each individual is affected by that illness in a different way. Patients are not perceived as just a number, but instead approached and treated as the unique individuals they represent.

Alissa Huston, MD

Last update: May 7, 2025

Last full literature review: February 2025

CancerChoices provides information about integrative in cancer care, a patient-centered approach combining the best of conventional care, self care and evidence-informed complementary care in an integrated plan cancer care. We review complementaryin cancer care, complementary care involves the use of therapies intended to enhance or add to standard conventional treatments; examples include supplements, mind-body approaches such as yoga or psychosocial therapy, and acupuncture therapies and self-care lifestyle actions and behaviors that may impact cancer outcomes; examples include eating health-promoting foods, limiting alcohol, increasing physical activity, and managing stress practices to help patients and professionals explore and integrate the best combination of conventionalthe cancer care offered by conventionally trained physicians and most hospitals; examples are chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy and complementary therapies and practices for each person.

Our staff have no financial conflicts of interest to declare. We receive no funds from any manufacturers or retailers gaining financial profit by promoting or discouraging therapies mentioned on this site.