Abraxane

Generic name: Paclitaxel Protein-bound
Drug class: Mitotic inhibitors

Usage of Abraxane

Abraxane is a cancer medicine that interferes with the growth and spread of cancer cells in the body.

Abraxane is used to treat advanced cancer of the breast, lung, or pancreas. This medicine is used when he cancer cannot be treated with surgery or after other treatments have failed.

Abraxane is sometimes given with other cancer medicines.

Abraxane side effects

Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction to Abraxane (hives, difficult breathing, swelling in your face or throat) or a severe skin reaction (fever, sore throat, burning eyes, skin pain, red or purple skin rash with blistering and peeling).

Call your doctor at once if you have:

numbness, tingling, pain, or weakness in your hands or feet;

sudden chest pain or discomfort, rapid heart rate;

dry cough, shortness of breath, rapid and shallow breathing;

easy bruising, unusual bleeding, purple or red spots under your skin;

low white blood cell counts - fever, mouth sores, skin sores, sore throat, cough, trouble breathing;

low red blood cells (anemia) - pale skin, unusual tiredness, feeling light-headed or short of breath, cold hands and feet;

dehydration symptoms - headache, muscle pain, thirst, dry mouth, hot and dry skin, vomiting, diarrhea, dark urine, being unable to urinate; or

a blood infection (sepsis) - fever, flu symptoms, mouth and throat ulcers, rapid heart rate, shallow breathing.

Your cancer treatments may be delayed or permanently discontinued if you have certain side effects.

Common Abraxane side effects may include:

fever, chills, or other signs of infection;

bruising, bleeding, anemia;

hair loss, rash;

nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite;

irregular heartbeats;

feeling tired;

muscle and joint pain;

swelling in your hands or feet;

abnormal liver function tests; or

dehydration.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Before taking Abraxane

You should not be treated with Abraxane if you are allergic to paclitaxel, or if you have:

a low white blood cell count; or

severe liver disease.

To make sure Abraxane is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have:

liver disease;

kidney disease; or

an allergic reaction to medicines like paclitaxel (such as cabazitaxel or docetaxel).

Abraxane can harm an unborn baby or cause birth defects if the mother or the father is using this medicine.

If you are a woman, do not use Abraxane if you are pregnant. You may need to have a negative pregnancy test before starting this treatment. Use effective birth control to prevent pregnancy while you are using this medicine and for at least 6 months after your last dose.

If you are a man, use effective birth control if your sex partner is able to get pregnant. Keep using birth control for at least 3 months after your last dose.

Tell your doctor right away if a pregnancy occurs while either the mother or the father is using Abraxane.

This medicine may affect fertility (ability to have children) in both men and women. However, it is important to use birth control to prevent pregnancy because Abraxane can harm an unborn baby.

Do not breast-feed while you are receiving this medicine, and for at least 2 weeks after your last dose.

Abraxane is made from donated human plasma and may contain viruses or other infectious agents. Donated plasma is tested and treated to reduce the risk of contamination, but there is still a small possibility it could transmit disease. Ask your doctor about any possible risk.

Relate drugs

How to use Abraxane

Usual Adult Dose for Breast Cancer:

260 mg/m2 IV over 30 minutes every 3 weeks Use: For metastatic breast cancer, after failure of combination chemotherapy for metastatic disease or relapse within 6 months of adjuvant chemotherapy; prior therapy should have included an anthracycline unless clinically contraindicated

Usual Adult Dose for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer:

100 mg/m2 IV over 30 minutes on Days 1, 8, and 15 of each 21-day cycle; administer carboplatin on Day 1 of each 21-day cycle immediately after paclitaxel protein-bound Use: For locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as first-line treatment in combination with carboplatin, in patients who are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation therapy

Usual Adult Dose for Pancreatic Cancer:

125 mg/m2 IV over 30 to 40 minutes on Days 1, 8, and 15 of each 28-day cycle; administer gemcitabine immediately after paclitaxel protein-bound on Days 1, 8 and 15 of each 28-day cycle Use: For metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas as first-line treatment, in combination with gemcitabine

Warnings

You should not be treated with Abraxane if you have a very low white blood cell count.

You may need frequent medical tests at your doctor's office to be sure paclitaxel is not causing harmful effects. Your cancer treatments may be delayed based on the results of these tests.

Abraxane can weaken your immune system. Your blood may need to be tested often.

What other drugs will affect Abraxane

Other drugs may interact with paclitaxel, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products. Tell your doctor about all your current medicines and any medicine you start or stop using.

Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Drugslib.com is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Drugslib.com information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Drugslib.com does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Drugslib.com's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Drugslib.com's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners.

The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Drugslib.com does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Drugslib.com provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.