Panitumumab (Intravenous Route)

Panitumumab injection is used alone or in combination with other medicines to treat metastatic cancer (cancer that spreads to other parts of the body) of the colon or rectum in patients who have already received other cancer treatments. Panitumumab injection should only be used in patients who have had a KRAS gene mutation test. This test helps the doctor decide whether the medicine will treat their cancer.

Panitumumab interferes with the growth of cancer cells, which are eventually destroyed by the body. Since the growth of normal body cells may also be affected by panitumumab, other effects will also occur. Some of these may be serious and must be reported to your doctor. Other effects, such as a skin rash, may not be serious but may cause concern. Some effects do not occur until months or years after the medicine is used.

Before you begin treatment with panitumumab, you and your doctor should talk about the benefits this medicine will do as well as the risks of using it.

This medicine will only be given by or under the immediate supervision of your doctor.

This product is available in the following dosage forms:

• Solution

Appropriate studies performed to date have not demonstrated geriatric-specific problems that would limit the usefulness of panitumumab injection in the elderly. However, some elderly patients are more likely to have unwanted side effects (eg, diarrhea), which may require caution in patients receiving this medicine.

Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. Tell your healthcare professional if you are taking any other prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicine.

The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of this medicine. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

• Dehydration or
• Diarrhea or
• Electrolyte imbalance (eg, low magnesium, potassium, or calcium in the blood) or
• Eye disease or
• Kidney disease or
• Lung disease (eg, interstitial pneumonitis, pulmonary fibrosis), history of or
• Sensitivity to sunlight or
• Skin or nail disorder—Use with caution. May make these conditions worse.