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

Safety and precautions

Itraconazole inhibits the enzyme P450 CYP3A4, which helps the body to process and get rid of medications. This means that if someone is taking itraconazole, other medications may stay in their bodies longer, and at a higher dose, than intended. Your physician may need to adjust the doses of other medications if you are taking itraconazole.

Itraconazole can cause serious imbalances including low potassium, edema (swelling), and high blood pressure. Other side effects include fatigue, nausea, anorexia, and rash.

Side effects or adverse events

Among people with prostate cancer taking itraconazole in clinical trials, the most common side effects are a combination of low potassium (hypokalemia), edema, and high blood pressure, which increase with the dose and suggest that itraconazole may cause mineralocorticoid imbalances (imbalances in the hormones that regulate salt and water in the blood).1Antonarakis ES, Heath EI et al. Repurposing itraconazole as a treatment for advanced prostate cancer: a noncomparative randomized phase II trial in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Oncologist. 2013;18(2):163-73 People with prostate cancer also experienced fatigue, nausea, low appetite, and rashes.2Antonarakis ES, Heath EI et al. Repurposing itraconazole as a treatment for advanced prostate cancer: a noncomparative randomized phase II trial in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Oncologist. 2013;18(2):163-73; Lee M, Hong H et al. Itraconazole as a noncastrating treatment for biochemically recurrent prostate cancer: a phase 2 study. Clinical Genitourinary Cancer. 2019 Feb;17(1):e92-e96.

In rare cases, itraconazole can cause heart failure, liver failure, and possibly birth defects when taken during pregnancy.3Kurn H, Wadhwa R. Itraconazole. In: StatPearls [Internet]. 17 Apr 2023. 

Interactions with other therapies

Because itraconazole changes the way your body processes medications, it can interact with a wide range of other medications, from dexamethasone to hormone treatments for prostate cancer.4Varis T, Kivistö KT et al. The cytochrome P450 3A4 inhibitor itraconazole markedly increases the plasma concentrations of dexamethasone and enhances its adrenal-suppressant effect. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 2000 Nov;68(5):487-94; Gibbons JA, de Vries M et al. Pharmacokinetic drug interaction studies with enzalutamide. Clinical Pharmacokinetics. 2015 Oct;54(10):1057-69. If you are taking itraconazole, your physician may need to adjust the dose of any other medications you take. 

Do not use (contraindications)

Contraindications for itraconazole are heart failure and liver failure, since in rare cases, itraconazole can cause heart or liver damage (toxicity).5Kurn H, Wadhwa R. Itraconazole. In: StatPearls [Internet]. 17 Apr 2023. There is mixed data on whether itraconazole may cause birth defects, so it is only prescribed to pregnant people when the benefits outweigh the risks.6Bar-Oz B, Moretti ME et al. Pregnancy outcome after in utero exposure to itraconazole: a prospective cohort study. Am J Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2000 Sep;183(3):617-20.; Kurn H, Wadhwa R. Itraconazole. In: StatPearls [Internet]. 17 Apr 2023. 

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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, MD

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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.

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