All you need to know about Gefitinib


If we talk about cancer, then in cancer certain cells in the body grow and multiply in an out of control way.

Anti-cancer medicines, which can be also addressed as chemotherapy, work by inhibiting the way cells grow and increase in number. Gefitinib mainly belongs to a group of anti-cancer (chemotherapy) medicines known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors. These anti-cancer medications effectfully work by blocking chemical messengers, called tyrosine kinases, which is effective as well as helpful in sending signals to cells to grow. This helps in order to stop cancerous cells from growing and spreading.

Gefitinib is the first-line metastatic non-small cell lung cancer medication (NSCLC) whose tumors have epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 19 deletions or exon 21 (L858R) substitution mutations as detected by an FDA-approved test.

Side effects of Gefitinib:

Sometimes Gefitinib 250 mg tablets may leave some adverse effects on patients who are taking this medication.

Some rarest, as well as common side effects of gefitinib 250 mg, may include diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, stomatitis, dehydration, skin reactions, paronychia, asymptomatic elevations of liver enzymes, asthenia, conjunctivitis, and blepharitis.

Dose of Gefitinib:

The recommended dose of Gefitinib is 250 mg, which should be taken by mouth once daily with or without food until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
Never receive a missed dose within 12 hours of the next dose.

What dosage forms Gefitinib comes in:

Gefitinib is basically an oral tablet and each tablet contains 250 mg gefitinib. Iressa (Gefitinib) comes in the blister packs of 30 tablets.

How Gefitinib Works:

This medication (Gefitinib) mainly inhibits the intracellular phosphorylation of numerous tyrosine kinases associated with transmembrane cell surface receptors, including the tyrosine kinases associated with the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR-TK). Epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) is expressed on the cell surface of many normal cells and cancer cells.

Interactions with Gefitinib:

Please inform your healthcare if you are receiving or have consumed any medications (including medications consumed some time ago), even those available over the counter. 
Your healthcare professional especially needs to know if:
  • You consume any of the following drugs: carbamazepine, rifampicin, phenytoin, barbiturates, St John’s Wort, ketoconazole, protease inhibitors (drugs to treat HIV/AIDS), itraconazole or macrolide antibiotics such as clarithromycin or erythromycin. These medications can affect the way gefitinib works. Your healthcare provider should also know if you take grapefruit juice. 
  • You receive warfarin (in order to prevent the blood-clots), as gefitinib can affect it. Your healthcare provider may need to check your blood more often. 
  • You consume any drugs which are used in order to help in reducing the stomach acid (e.g. sodium bicarbonate, proton-pump inhibitors, ranitidine).

Serious Warnings and Precautions:

  • Gefitinib must be prescribed by a healthcare provider experienced in treating and managing patients with cancer.
  • It should be avoided in patients with the EGFR mutation negative tumours.
  • Gefitinib has not been studied in patients with the severely reduced kidney function.
  • The isolated cases of liver failure have occured in patients receiving this medication, and a few patients have died from this.
  • Gastrointestinal perforation, including fatal cases, was reported in patients consuming Gefitinib.

Gefitinib Lung Cancer Survival:

The role of gefitinib medication for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is rapidly evolving.

In order to Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer survivors, patients who were receiving gefitinib had an excellent long-term safety profile.

Although it can be specified that most of these patients' tumors harbor EGFR mutations, molecular studies of available tumor specimens are planned to uncover the features that predict long-term survival

How to Store: It should be stored at room temperature, 15 to 30°C.
Keep this drug in the original package in order to protect it from moisture.

Important Information: Females who are carrying the potential to become pregnant should use an effective method of birth control while on the treatment with gefitinib and for at least 2 weeks after the last dose of gefitinib. You should avoid becoming pregnant during treatment with this lung cancer medicine.

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