What is the most important information I should know about bosutinib?
Follow all directions on your medicine label and package. Tell each of your healthcare providers about all your medical conditions, allergies, and all medicines you use.
What is bosutinib?
Bosutinib interferes with the growth of some cancer cells.
Bosutinib is used in adults to treat a type of blood cancer called Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).
Bosutinib is usually given after other treatments have failed.
Bosutinib may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.
What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before taking bosutinib?
You should not use bosutinib if you are allergic to it.
To make sure bosutinib is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have:
- liver disease;
- kidney disease;
- heart disease; or
- asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or other breathing disorder.
Do not use bosutinib if you are pregnant. It could harm the unborn baby. Tell your doctor right away if you become pregnant during treatment. Use effective birth control while you are using this medicine, and for at least 1 month after your last dose.
You may need to have a negative pregnancy test before starting this treatment.
It is not known whether bosutinib passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. You should not breast-feed while using this medicine, and for at least 1 month after your last dose.
How should I take bosutinib?
Bosutinib is usually taken once per day. Follow all directions on your prescription label. Your doctor may occasionally change your dose. Do not take this medicine in larger or smaller amounts or for longer than recommended.
Do not break or crush a bosutinib tablet. The medicine from a crushed or broken pill can be dangerous if it gets on your skin. If this occurs, wash your skin with soap and water. Ask your doctor or pharmacist how to safely handle and dispose of a broken tablet.
Bosutinib can lower blood cells that help your body fight infections and help your blood to clot. Your blood will need to be tested often. Your cancer treatments may be delayed based on the results of these tests.
You should not stop using bosutinib without your doctor's advice.
Store at room temperature away from moisture and heat.
What happens if I miss a dose?
Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If you are more than 12 hours late, skip the missed dose. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.
What happens if I overdose?
Seek emergency medical attention or call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222.
What should I avoid while taking bosutinib?
Grapefruit and grapefruit juice may interact with bosutinib and lead to unwanted side effects. Avoid the use of grapefruit products while taking bosutinib.
This medicine can pass into body fluids (urine, feces, vomit). Caregivers should wear rubber gloves while cleaning up a patient's body fluids, handling contaminated trash or laundry or changing diapers. Wash hands before and after removing gloves. Wash soiled clothing and linens separately from other laundry.
What are the possible side effects of bosutinib?
Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives, itching; dizziness; back pain, joint pain; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Stop using bosutinib and call your doctor at once if you have:
- severe or ongoing nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, or diarrhea;
- blood in your stools;
- urinating more or less than usual;
- swelling in your hands or feet, rapid weight gain;
- feeling light-headed or short of breath;
-
low blood cell counts --fever, chills, tiredness, flu-like symptoms, mouth sores, skin sores, easy bruising, unusual bleeding, pale skin, cold hands and feet;
-
liver problems --upper stomach pain, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes); or
-
swelling or fluid build-up in the lungs --anxiety, sweating, pain when you breathe, feeling short of breath while lying down, wheezing, gasping for breath, cough with foamy mucus, chest pain, fast or uneven heart rate.
Your cancer treatments may be delayed or permanently discontinued if you have certain side effects.
Common side effects may include:
- headache, feeling tired;
- nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain;
- fever, cough;
- swelling;
- rash; or
- pale skin, bruising or bleeding.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
What other drugs will affect bosutinib?
Some medicines can make bosutinib much less effective when taken at the same time. If you take an antacid or stomach acid reducer (Zantac, Prilosec, and others), take your bosutinib dose 2 hours before or 2 hours after you take the other medicine.
Many drugs can interact with bosutinib. Not all possible interactions are listed here. Tell your doctor about all your current medicines and any you start or stop using, especially:
- an antibiotic or antifungal medicine;
- an antidepressant;
- antiviral medicine to treat hepatitis C or HIV/AIDS;
- heart or blood pressure medicine; or
- other cancer medicines.
This list is not complete and many other drugs can interact with bosutinib. This includes prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products. Give a list of all your medicines to any healthcare provider who treats you.
Where can I get more information?
Your pharmacist can provide more information about bosutinib.
Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medication only for the indication prescribed.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. ('Multum') is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Multum's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.
Copyright 1996-2018 Cerner Multum, Inc. Version: 3.01. Revision date: 12/27/2017.
