Idarubicin

/Home/Leukemia Cures and Treatment/Leukemia Drugs and Medications/Idarubicin and Leukemia

Idarubicin
American Cancer Society

Idamycin
Pronunciation: eye-duh-roo-buh-sin
Why would this drug be used?
Idarubicin is used to treat certain kinds of leukemia (AML and other non-lymphocytic types) in combination with other drugs.
How does this drug work?
Idarubicin is a member of a general group of chemotherapy drugs known as anthracycline antibiotics. It prevents cells from making DNA and/or RNA, thus slowing or stopping cell growth.
Before taking this medicine

Tell your doctor:


* If you are allergic to anything, including medicines, dyes, additives, or foods.

* If you have any medical conditions such as kidney disease, liver disease (including hepatitis), heart disease, congestive heart failure, diabetes, or infections. These conditions may require that your medicine dose, regimen, or timing be changed.

* If you have previously been treated for cancer with doxorubicin, daunorubicin, or epirubicin (similar types of chemotherapy), or any other drug that may result in heart damage. Your dose of idarubicin may need to be adjusted.

* If you have ever had radiation treatment to your chest. This may increase your risk of heart damage.

* If you are pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or if there is any chance of pregnancy. If either the male or female is taking this drug at the time of conception or during a pregnancy, it may cause birth defects. If you're sexually active while taking this drug, you should use some kind of birth control. It is important to check with your doctor about what kinds of birth control can be used with this medicine.

* If you think you might want to have children in the future. Some drugs can cause sterility. Talk with your doctor about the possible risk with this drug and the options that may preserve your ability to have children.

* If you are breast-feeding. It is not known whether this drug passes into breast milk. If it does, it could harm the baby.

* About any other prescription or over-the-counter medicines you are taking, including vitamins and herbs.


Interactions with other drugs
No serious interactions are known at this time. But this does not necessarily mean that none exist. Check with your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist about other medicines, vitamins, herbs, and supplements, and whether alcohol can cause problems with this medicine.
Interactions with foods
No serious interactions with food are known at this time. Check with your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist about whether foods may be a problem.
Tell all the doctors, dentists, nurses, and pharmacists you visit that you are taking this drug.


How is this drug taken or given?
Idarubicin is injected into the vein over about 15 minutes. If you feel any pain, burning, or discomfort in the vein, tell your nurse right away. Nausea and vomiting are common side effects of taking this drug. You should be given anti-nausea medicine to take before and after your dose. The dose and how often you get the medicine depends on several factors: your size, your blood counts, how well your liver is working, and the type of cancer being treated. Your nurse or doctor should check your blood counts before each treatment. Your treatment will be delayed if they're too low. You may take this medicine in addition to other chemotherapy drugs.
Precautions
Idarubicin is given into the vein (IV). If the drug leaks out of the vein and under the skin, it may damage the tissue, causing pain, ulceration, and scarring. Tell the nurse right away if you notice redness, pain, or swelling at or near the IV.

You may have nausea and vomiting on the day you receive this drug or in the first few days afterward. Your doctor may give you medicine before your treatment to help prevent nausea and vomiting. You will likely also get a prescription for an anti-nausea medicine that you can take at home. It is important to have these medicines on hand and to take them as prescribed by your doctor.

Idarubicin causes the urine to turn reddish for 1 to 2 days after each dose is given. This is normal while your body gets rid of the drug, but may stain clothes.

Do not get any immunizations (vaccinations), either during or after treatment with this drug, without your doctor's OK. This drug may affect your immune system, which could make vaccinations ineffective, or could even lead to serious infections. Try to avoid contact with people who have recently received a live virus vaccine, such as the oral polio vaccine or smallpox vaccine.

Your doctor will likely test your blood throughout your treatment, looking for possible effects of the drug on blood counts (described below) or on other body organs. Based on the test results, you may be given medicines to help treat any effects. Your doctor may also need to reduce or delay your next dose of this drug, or even stop it altogether.

This drug can lower your white blood cell count, especially in the weeks after the drug is given. This can increase your chance of getting an infection. Be sure to let your doctor or nurse know right away if you have any signs of infection, such as fever (100.5° or higher), chills, pain when passing urine, a new cough, or bringing up sputum.

Idarubicin may lower your platelet count in the weeks after it is given, which can increase your risk of bleeding. Speak with your doctor before taking any drugs or supplements that might affect your body's ability to stop bleeding, such as aspirin or aspirin-containing medicines, warfarin (Coumadin), or vitamin E. Tell your doctor right away if you have unusual bruising, or bleeding such as nosebleeds, bleeding gums when you brush your teeth, or black, tarry stools.

This drug can cause a condition known as hand-foot syndrome, in which a person may experience pain, numbness, tingling, reddening, or swelling in the hands or feet. Peeling, blistering, or sores on the skin in these areas are also possible. Let your doctor know right away if you notice any of these symptoms.

This drug may cause hair loss. You may want to talk to your doctor or nurse about getting a wig before starting treatment. If your insurance does not cover the cost of a wig, there may be other resources to help you. Hair loss is usually temporary, and your hair will likely grow back during or after treatment.

This drug can raise the blood level of uric acid (hyperuricemia), which can worsen gout and cause serious kidney damage. If your doctor feels you might be at risk, he or she will give you medicines and/or fluids during treatment to help prevent this.

Idarubicin can cause radiation recall, a condition characterized by red, itchy skin at the site of previous radiation. Tell your doctor or nurse if your skin gets red in areas where radiation was given.

When large doses are given, there's a chance idarubicin may injure the heart muscle. Your doctor will test your heart before and during your first treatment so that any damage can be found early. After you have finished taking the drug, it is still important to let your doctor know right away if you notice shortness of breath, swollen feet or ankles, or irregular heartbeat. These effects can show up months or years after receiving the drug.

Possible side effects

Common

* decreased white blood cell count with increased risk of infection*
* decreased platelet count with increased risk of bleeding*
* nausea*
* vomiting*
* abdominal pain
* decreased appetite
* sores in mouth or on lips
* hair loss*
* skin rash


Less common

* darkening of nail beds
* diarrhea
* abnormal blood tests which suggest that the drug is affecting the liver (Your doctor will discuss the importance of this finding, if any.)


Rare

* inflammation of the liver
* heart damage with shortness of breath and swollen feet and ankles, which can happen months or years after treatment*
* irregular heartbeat*
* pain, tingling, blistering, or peeling skin on palms and soles of feet

There are other side effects not listed above that can also occur in some patients. Tell your doctor or nurse if you develop these or any other problems.


FDA approval
Yes - first approved in 1990.

This information does not cover all possible uses, actions, precautions, side effects, or interactions. It is not intended as medical advice, and should not be relied upon as a substitute for talking with your doctor, who is familiar with your medical needs.

Copyright 2009 © American Cancer Society, Inc.