VINCRISTINE SULPHATE

• Route: This drug is to be given by injection only into a vein. It must not be injected into the spine or into other areas of the body since fatal reactions have occurred.
• Vincristine liposomal injection is different than vincristine injection. The two drugs have different dosage recommendations.

Many people using this medication have serious side effects. However, your doctor has prescribed this drug because he or she has judged that the benefit to you is greater than the risk of side effects. Careful monitoring by your doctor may decrease your risk.

Common side effects:

• nausea,
• loss of appetite,
• diarrhea,
• dizziness,
• tiredness, or
• trouble sleeping
• constipation, which in some cases may become serious
• temporary hair loss

Tell your doctor right away if you experience burning, pain, irritation, redness, or swelling around the injection site.

This medication may lower your ability to fight infections. This may make you more likely to get a serious (rarely fatal) infection or make any infection you have worse. Tell your doctor right away if you have any signs of infection (such as fever, chills, persistent sore throat, cough).

This medication commonly affects the nerves and muscles in your body. These side effects may improve if your doctor temporarily stops the treatment and then restarts it at a lower dose. However, sometimes these side effects may worsen and persist, which may require stopping treatment.

Tell your doctor right away if you have any of the following:

• painful/difficult urination,
• change in the amount of urine,
• pain (including in the joints, back, muscles),
• numbness/tingling/burning/pain of the feet/hands,
• weakness,
• difficulty walking,
• loss of coordination/balance,
• inability to move your muscles (including the muscles of your face and other parts of your body),
• drooping eyelids,
• hoarseness,
• trouble speaking.

Tell your doctor right away if you have any serious side effects, including:

• vision/hearing changes,
• mental/mood changes (such as depression, hallucinations, confusion),
• easy bleeding/bruising,
• severe tiredness.

Get medical help right away if you have any very serious side effects, including:

• seizures,
• trouble breathing,
• chest/jaw/left arm pain,
• signs of liver problems (such as dark urine, persistent nausea, vomiting, stomach/abdominal pain, yellowing eyes/skin).

Precautions:

Before having surgery, tell your doctor or dentist about all the products you use (including prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs, and herbal products).

• Allergy: Before using vincristine liposomal, tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are allergic to it or vincristine; or if you have any other allergies.
• Medical History: Before using this medication, tell your doctor or pharmacist if you had: nerve/muscle problems (such as numbness/tingling/pain due to neuropathy, demyelinating conditions including Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome), liver disease, decreased bone marrow function, blood disorders, current infection.
• Immunosuppression: This medication can make you more likely to get infections or may worsen any current infections. Therefore, wash your hands well to prevent the spread of infection. Avoid contact with people who have infections that may spread to others (such as chickenpox, measles, flu).
• Immunizations: Do not have immunizations/vaccinations without the consent of your doctor. Avoid contact with people who have recently received live vaccines (such as flu vaccine inhaled through the nose).
• Reduced fertility: This medication may reduce fertility in men and women. Consult your doctor for more details.

Pregnancy Risk: Category D.  This medication is not recommended for use during pregnancy. It may harm an unborn baby.

Breastfeeding: It is unknown if this drug passes into breast milk. Because of the possible risk to the infant, breast-feeding while using this drug is not recommended. Consult your doctor before breast-feeding.

Interactions:

Other medications can affect the removal of vincristine liposomal from your body, which may affect how vincristine liposomal works. Examples include:

• azole antifungals (such as itraconazole, ketoconazole),
• HIV protease inhibitors (such as atazanavir, indinavir),
• macrolide antibiotics (such as clarithromycin),
• certain anti-seizure drugs (such as carbamazepine, phenytoin),
• rifamycins (such as rifabutin, rifampin),
• John’s wort

Overdose:

If overdose is suspected, contact a poison control center or emergency room immediately.

Notes

Laboratory and/or medical tests (such as complete blood count, liver function tests) should be performed periodically to monitor your progress or check for side effects. Consult your doctor for more details.

Missed Dose

For the best possible benefit, it is important to receive each scheduled dose of this medication as directed. If you miss a dose, contact your doctor or pharmacist immediately to establish a new dosing schedule.

Storage

Consult the product instructions and your pharmacist for storage details. Keep all medications away from children and pets.

Do not flush medications down the toilet or pour them into a drain unless instructed to do so. Properly discard this product when it is expired or no longer needed. Consult your pharmacist or local waste disposal company.

Brands:

Available Brands

• Alcavixin [ Korea United Pharma ]

Also marketed as

• Biomedis Vincristine [ Biomedis Oncology ]