Fludarabine Phosphate (patient information)

IMPORTANT WARNING
Fludarabine can cause a decrease in the number of blood cells in your bone marrow. Fludarabine also can cause neurotoxicity. If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately: tingling of the hands or feet, mental confusion, or loss of coordination. Your doctor will order certain lab tests to check your response to fludarabine.

About your treatment
Your doctor has ordered the drug fludarabine to help treat your illness. The drug is given by injection into a vein.

This medication is used to treat:


 * chronic lymphocytic leukemia

This medication is sometimes prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Fludarabine is in a class of drugs known as purine analogs; it slows or stops the growth of cancer cells in your body. The length of treatment depends on the types of drugs you are taking, how well your body responds to them, and the type of cancer you have.

Other uses for this medicine
Fludarabine also is used to treat acute myelogenous leukemia, acute lymphocytic leukemia, hairy cell leukemia, prolymphocytic leukemia, macroglobulinemia, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, head and neck cancer, hepatoma, lung cancer (small cell and non-small cell), renal cell cancer, gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer, adenocarcinoma, ovarian cancer, glioma, melanoma, osseous or soft tissue sarcomas, and multiple myeloma. Talk to your doctor about the possible risks of using this drug for your condition.

Precautions
Before taking fludarabine:


 * tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to fludarabine or any other drugs.
 * tell your doctor and pharmacist what prescription and nonprescription medications you are taking, especially aspirin, any other cancer chemotherapeutic agents such as pentostatin (Nipent) or cytarabine (Cytosar-U), and vitamins.
 * tell your doctor if you have or have ever had kidney disease.
 * you should know that fludarabine may interfere with the normal menstrual cycle (period) in women and may stop sperm production in men. However, you should not assume that you cannot get pregnant or that you cannot get someone else pregnant. Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding should tell their doctors before they begin taking this drug. You should not plan to have children while receiving chemotherapy or for a while after treatments. (Talk to your doctor for further details.) Use a reliable method of birth control to prevent pregnancy. Fludarabine may harm the fetus.
 * do not have any vaccinations (e.g., measles or flu shots) without talking to your doctor.

Minor side effects
Side effects from fludarabine are common and include:


 * loss of appetite
 * nausea
 * vomiting
 * thinned or brittle hair
 * constipation
 * diarrhea
 * headache

Tell your doctor if either of these symptoms is severe or lasts for several hours:


 * mouth blistering
 * fatigue or weakness

Severe side effects
If you experience any of the following symptoms or those listed in the IMPORTANT WARNING section, call your doctor immediately:


 * unusual bleeding or bruising
 * fever
 * chills
 * cough
 * shortness of breath
 * chest pain or discomfort
 * problems with swallowing
 * agitation
 * change in vision or hearing
 * difficult or painful urination
 * rash or itching
 * change in normal bowel habits for more than 2 days

If you experience a serious side effect, you or your doctor may send a report to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online [at http://www.fda.gov/MedWatch/report.htm] or by phone [1-800-332-1088].

In case of emergency/overdose
In case of overdose, call your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222. If the victim has collapsed or is not breathing, call local emergency services at 911.

Brand names

 * Fludara®