Health Centres - Etopophos
How does it work?
Etopophos injection contains the active ingredient etoposide phosphate, which is an anticancer chemotherapy medicine.
Cancers form when some cells within the body multiply uncontrollably and abnormally. These cells spread, destroying nearby tissues. Etoposide works by stopping the cancer cells from multiplying.
Like normal healthy cells, cancer cells go through a continuous process of change. Each cell divides into two daughter cells. These cells grow, rest and then divide again. Etoposide prevents the cells from entering mitosis (the dividing stage) of the cell's life cycle. It also destroys cells in the previous phase before mitosis where proteins are made.
Unfortunately, etoposide can also affect normal, healthy cells, particularly those that multiply quickly, such as blood cells and hair cells. The most important side effect is on the bone marrow where blood cells are made. Etoposide can decrease the production of blood cells, leaving people susceptible to infection. Regular blood tests are therefore needed to monitor the levels of blood cells.
In most chemotherapy regimens, doses are administered in courses at various intervals to allow normal cells to recover from the adverse effects of the anticancer medicines between doses. However, during this period, cancer cells will also recover and start to replicate again. Successful treatment depends on the administration of the next course of therapy before the cancer has regrown to its previous size and the net effect is to decrease the amount of cancer with each successive course.
Etoposide is used principally in combination with other anticancer drugs, though it can also be used alone. It is usually given every day for three to five days. The course is then repeated not more frequently than at intervals of 21 days.
Etopophos injection is given as a drip into a vein (intravenous infusion). This can take between 5 minutes to 3.5 hours.
What is it used for?
-
Small cell lung cancer
-
Testicular cancer
- In addition to these licensed uses, etoposide may also be used by specialists to treat other types of cancer, including leukaemia and lymphoma.
Warning!
- Your liver function should also be monitored during treatment with this medicine. Symptoms that may suggest a liver problem include persistent nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, or the development of jaundice (a yellow colouring to the skin and the whites of the eyes). Tell your doctor if you experience any of these symptoms.
- On very rare occasions, etoposide may cause a second cancer, usually a type of acute leukaemia, to develop a few years after your treatment has finished. Your doctor or nurse can discuss the risks of this with you.
- Your ability to become pregnant or father a child may be affected by treatment with this medicine. It is important to discuss fertility with your doctor before starting treatment.
Use with caution in
- Decreased kidney function
- Decreased liver function
Not to be used in
- Severely decreased liver function
- Pregnancy
- Breastfeeding
This medicine should not be used if you are allergic to one or any of its ingredients. Please inform your doctor or pharmacist if you have previously experienced such an allergy.
Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
Certain medicines should not be used during pregnancy or breastfeeding. However, other medicines may be safely used in pregnancy or breastfeeding providing the benefits to the mother outweigh the risks to the unborn baby. Always inform your doctor if you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, before using any medicine.
- This medicine should not be used during pregnancy as it may be harmful to the unborn baby. Women who could get pregnant should use effective contraception to prevent pregnancy, and men should use effective contraception to prevent fathering a child, both during treatment, and for at least a few months after treatment is finished. Seek medical advice from your doctor.
- It is not known whether this medicine passes into breast milk. Mothers who need this medicine should not breastfeed. Seek medical advice from your doctor.
Side effects
Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways. The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.
- Decrease in the number of white blood cells in the blood (leucopenia)
- Decrease in the number of platelets in the blood (thrombocytopenia)
- Reversible hair loss
- Nausea and vomiting
- Decrease in the number of red blood cells in the blood (anaemia)
- Abdominal pain
- Loss of appetite
- Diarrhoea or constipation
- Sore mouth or throat
- Changes in blood pressure
- Breathing difficulties due to a narrowing of the airways (bronchospasm)
- Disorder of the peripheral nerves causing weakness and numbness (peripheral neuropathy)
- Sleepiness (somnolence)
- Fatigue
- Alteration in taste
- Fever
- Skin reactions such as rash, itching or darkening of skin
- Difficulty swallowing
- Alteration in results of liver function tests
The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the drug's manufacturer.
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