Bleocin 15IU Injection

Bleomycin for Injection, USP should be considered a palliative treatment. It has been shown to be useful in the management of the following neoplasms either as a single agent or in proven combinations with other approved chemotherapeutic agents: Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Head and neck (including mouth, tongue, tonsil, nasopharynx, oropharynx, sinus, palate, lip, buccal mucosa, gingivae, epiglottis, skin, larynx), penis, cervix, and vulva. The response to Bleomycin for Injection, USP is poorer in patients with previously irradiated head and neck cancer. Lymphomas: Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Testicular Carcinoma: Embryonal cell, choriocarcinoma, and teratocarcinoma. Bleomycin for Injection, USP has also been shown to be useful in the management of: Malignant Pleural Effusion: Bleomycin for Injection, USP is effective as a sclerosing agent for the treatment of malignant pleural effusion and prevention of recurrent pleural effusions.

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Source: US FDA prescribing information, via openFDA. Provided for general information only — it is not a substitute for your doctor's or pharmacist's advice. Always follow your prescriber's instructions.

Boxed warning. It is recommended that Bleomycin for Injection, USP be administered under the supervision of a qualified physician experienced in the use of cancer chemotherapeutic agents. Appropriate management of therapy and complications is possible only when adequate diagnostic and treatment facilities are readily available. Pulmonary fibrosis is the most severe toxicity associated with Bleomycin. The most frequent presentation is pneumonitis occasionally progressing to pulmonary fibrosis. Its occurrence is higher in elderly patients and in those receiving greater than 400 units total dose, but pulmonary toxicity has been observed in young patients and those treated with low doses. A severe idiosyncratic reaction consisting of hypotension, mental confusion, fever, chills, and wheezing has been reported in approximately 1% of lymphoma patients treated with Bleomycin. Patients receiving Bleomycin must be observed carefully and frequently during and after therapy. It should be used with extreme caution in patients with significant impairment of renal function or compromised pulmonary function. Pulmonary toxicities occur in 10% of treated patients. In approximately 1%, the nonspecific pneumonitis induced by Bleomycin progresses to pulmonary fibrosis and death. Although this is age and dose related, the toxicity is unpredictable. Frequent roentgenograms are recommended (see ADVERSE REACTIONS: Pulmonary ). A severe idiosyncratic reaction (similar to anaphylaxis) consisting of hypotension, mental confusion, fever, chills, and wheezing has been reported in approximately 1% of lymphoma patients treated with Bleomycin. Since these reactions usually occur after the first or second dose, careful monitoring is essential after these doses (see ADVERSE REACTIONS: Idiosyncratic Reactions ). Renal or hepatic toxicity, beginning as a deterioration in renal or liver function tests, have been reported. These toxicities may occur at any time after initiation of therapy. Usage in Pregnancy Pregnancy “Category D” Bleomycin can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. It has been shown to be teratogenic in rats. Administration of intraperitoneal doses of 1.5 mg/kg/day to rats (about 1.6 times the recommended human dose on a unit/m 2 basis) on days 6 to 15 of gestation caused skeletal malformations, shortened innominate artery and hydroureter. Bleomycin is abortifacient but not teratogenic in rabbits at intravenous doses of 1.2 mg/kg/day (about 2.4 times the recommended human dose on a unit/m 2 basis) given on gestation days 6 to 18. There have been no studies in pregnant women. If Bleomycin is used during pregnancy, or if the patient becomes pregnant while receiving this drug, the patient should be apprised of the potential hazard to the fetus. Abridged from the full prescribing information.

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Source: US FDA prescribing information, via openFDA. Provided for general information only — it is not a substitute for your doctor's or pharmacist's advice. Always follow your prescriber's instructions.

Pulmonary The most serious side effects are pulmonary adverse reactions, occurring in approximately 10% of treated patients. The most frequent presentation is pneumonitis occasionally progressing to pulmonary fibrosis. Approximately 1% of patients treated have died of pulmonary fibrosis. Pulmonary toxicity is both dose and age related, being more common in patients over 70 years of age and in those receiving over 400 units total dose. This toxicity, however, is unpredictable and has been seen in young patients receiving low doses. Some published reports have suggested that the risk of pulmonary toxicity may be increased when Bleomycin is used in combination with G-CSF (filgrastim) or other cytokines. However, randomized clinical studies completed to date have not demonstrated an increased risk of pulmonary complications in patients treated with Bleomycin and G-CSF. Because of lack of specificity of the clinical syndrome, the identification of patients with pulmonary toxicity due to Bleomycin has been extremely difficult. The earliest symptom associated with Bleomycin pulmonary toxicity is dyspnea. The earliest sign is fine rales. Radiographically, Bleomycin-induced pneumonitis produces nonspecific patchy opacities, usually of the lower lung fields. The most common changes in pulmonary function tests are a decrease in total lung volume and a decrease in vital capacity. However, these changes are not predictive of the development of pulmonary fibrosis. The microscopic tissue changes due to Bleomycin toxicity include bronchiolar squamous metaplasia, reactive macrophages, atypical alveolar epithelial cells, fibrinous edema, and interstitial fibrosis. The acute stage may involve capillary changes and subsequent fibrinous exudation into alveoli producing a change similar to hyaline membrane formation and progressing to a diffuse interstitial fibrosis resembling the Hamman-Rich syndrome. These microscopic findings are nonspecific; e.g., similar changes are seen in radiation pneumonitis and pneumocystic pneumonitis. To monitor the onset of pulmonary toxicity, roentgenograms of the chest should be taken every 1 to 2 weeks (see WARNINGS ). If pulmonary changes are noted, treatment should be discontinued until it can be determined if they are drug related. Recent studies have suggested that sequential measurement of the pulmonary diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DL co ) during treatment with Bleomycin may be an indicator of subclinical pulmonary toxicity. Abridged from the full prescribing information.

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Source: US FDA prescribing information, via openFDA. Provided for general information only — it is not a substitute for your doctor's or pharmacist's advice. Always follow your prescriber's instructions.