Tositumomab

Tositumomab is a prescription medication used to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (cancer that begins in the cells of the immune system). Tositumomab belongs to a group of drugs called monoclonal antibodies with radioisotopes. It works by attaching to cancer cells and releasing radiation to damage the cancer cells.

Tositumomab injection comes as a liquid to be injected into a vein by a doctor who has been trained to treat patients with radioactive medication.

Common side effects include low blood counts, infections, and fever.

Tositumomab is a prescription medication used to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (cancer that begins in the cells of the immune system).

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tositumomab may be found in some form under the following brand names:

• Bexxar

Tositumomab is part of the drug class:

• Monoclonal antibodies

Common side effects include the following:

• low blood counts
• infections
• infusion reactions
• weakness
• fever
• nausea

This is not a complete list of this medication’s side effects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
 

No drug interactions have been studied. However, you should tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Not all drug interactions are known or reported and new drug interactions are continually being reported.

• Tositumomab injection may cause serious or life-threatening allergic reactions. Tell your doctor if you are allergic to medications made from murine (mouse) proteins, or if you are not sure if a medication you are allergic to is made from murine proteins. Also tell your doctor if you have ever taken a medication made from murine proteins. If so, you may be more likely to have an allergic reaction to tositumomab injection. Your doctor will order tests to see if you are likely to have an allergic reaction to tositumomab injection.
• Tell your doctor right away if you experience any of the following symptoms of allergic reaction while you are receiving a dose of tositumomab injection or during the first few days after you receive a dose of tositumomab injection: rash; hives; itching; swelling of the eyes, face, lips, tongue, throat, arms, hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs; tightening of the throat; wheezing; difficulty breathing or swallowing; or redness, swelling, or tenderness in the place where the medication was injected.
• Treatment with tositumomab injection may cause a severe or life-threatening decrease in the number of blood cells in your body. This decrease in blood cells may happen 4 to 7 weeks after your treatment with tositumomab injection and may last for 30 days or longer. This decrease in blood cells may cause serious or life-threatening bleeding or infection. Your doctor will not give you tositumomab injection if your blood cells have been severely affected by cancer or if you already have a low number of blood cells. Tell your doctor if you are taking any of the following medications: anticoagulants ('blood thinners') such as warfarin (Coumadin); aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve); and clopidogrel (Plavix). If you have any of the following symptoms, call your doctor right away: pale skin; weakness; shortness of breath; unusual bruising or bleeding; or sore throat, fever, chills, cough, and other signs of infection.
• Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Tositumomab injection may harm the fetus. If you are a female, your doctor will order a pregnancy test to be sure you are not pregnant before giving you tositumomab injection. Tositumomab injection may damage reproductive cells in men and women, so you will need to use birth control to prevent pregnancy in you or your partner during your treatment and for up to 12 months after your treatment. Talk to your doctor about an effective method of birth control to use during treatment with tositumomab. If you or your partner becomes pregnant during or up to 12 months after your treatment with tositumomab injection, call your doctor immediately.
• Tositumomab injection is a radioactive medication. It may only be given by doctors who have been trained to give radioactive medications and who have been certified by the manufacturer of tositumomab injection to give the medication.
• Some people who received tositumomab injection developed other forms of cancer including leukemia (cancer that begins in the white blood cells), myelodysplastic syndrome (condition in which blood cells do not develop normally), skin cancer, and other types of cancer or tumors. Talk to your doctor about the risks of receiving tositumomab injection.

Take this medication exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.
The dose your doctor recommends may be based on the following:

• the condition being treated
• other medical conditions you have
• other medications you are taking
• how you respond to this medication
• your weight
• your height
• your age
• your gender

The tositumomab therapeutic regimen consists of a 2-part dosimetric step, followed 7 to 14 days later by a 2-part therapeutic step.