Bevacizumab Medication - Uses & Side Effects

GENERIC NAME: BEVACIZUMAB - INJECTION (bev-ah-CIZ-oo-mab)

Pronunciation: beh va KIZ you mab

BRAND NAME(S): Avastin

Avastin is one of a new group of cancer drugs known as monoclonal antibodies. It prevents the growth of certain types of blood vessels to cancer cells. This helps to decrease the growth of cancer cells by starving the cells of nutrients needed to grow. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)- approved biological therapy designed to inhibit the formation of new blood vessels to tumors. The medicine was developed by Genentech and is marketed, in the United States by Genentech and elsewhere by Roche (Genentech's parent company), under the brand name Avastin. Bevacizumab has been investigated for efficacy in treatment in a number of cancers. Bevacizumab (AvastinT) was the first U.S. Avastin is designed to bind to and inhibit VEGF, a protein that plays a critical role in tumor angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels to the tumor). Bevacizumab is to be administered only by or under the immediate supervision of your doctor.

Bevacizumab Dosage:

• Take this medicine only as directed by your doctor . Do not take more or less of it, and do not take it more often than your doctor ordered.
• The first dose of this medication is administered by infusion into a vein over 90 minutes by a health care professional.
• It is usually given once every 2 weeks.
• The recommended dose of Avastin , when used in combination with bolus-IFL, is 5 mg/kg.
• The recommended dose of Avastin , when used in combination with FOLFOX4, is 10 mg/kg.
• Bevacizumab is often given together with certain other medicines.

Uses of Bevacizumab:

• Bevacizumab is used with fluorouracil, leucovorin, and irinotecan (IFL) to treat metastatic colorectal cancer.
• It prevents the growth of certain types of blood vessels to cancer cells.
• Bevacizumab may be used to treat many different types of cancer including colon cancer or kidney cancer.

Side Effects of Bevacizumab:

The following side effects of Baclofen may includes:

• Symptoms of a stroke: change in mental awareness, inability to talk or move one side of the body (especially in patients with lung cancer).
• High blood pressure.
• Chest pain.
• Difficulty breathing.
• Pinpoint red spots on skin.
• Vomiting of blood or material that looks like coffee grounds.
• Hypertension.
• Watery or bloody diarrhea.
• Intra-Abdominal Thrombosis.
• Constipation.
• Syncope.
• Blood in stool.
• Increased urination.
• Your temperature goes above 38ºC (100.5ºF).
• Leukopenia.
• Unusual bleeding or bruising.
• Anorexia, stomatitis and constipation.
• Weight gain;  wheezing;  yellow skin. 

Warnings and precautions before taking Bevacizumab:

• It is very important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits to make sure that this medicine is working properly and to check for unwanted effects.
• Do not take bevacizumab without first talking to your doctor if you are breast feeding a baby.
• Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to bevacizumab.
• Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.
• Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor.
• Tell your surgeon that you are taking this medication before having any type of surgery.
• Do not use bevacizumab without first talking to your doctor if you are pregnant or could become pregnant during treatment.

Drug Interaction:

• Before using this medication, tell your doctor or pharmacist of all prescription and nonprescription/herbal products you may use.
• No formal drug interaction studies with anti-neoplastic agents have been conducted.
• Do not start or stop any medicine without doctor or pharmacist approval.
• In the pivotal Phase III trial in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, no difference in irinotecan concentrations was observed between the Saltz regimen group and the Saltz regimen-plus-bevacizumab group.

Overdosage:

• After taking Bevacizumab, If you feel that overdose is suspected, then contact with your doctor immediately.
• Canadian residents should call their local poison control center directly.
• The highest dose tested in humans (20 mg/kg IV) was associated with headache in nine of 16 patients and with severe headache in three of 16 patients.
• US residents can call the US national poison hotline at 1-800-222-1222.

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