Generic drug: chlorambucil Brand name: Leukeran What is Leukeran (chlorambucil), and how does it work? Leukeran (chlorambucil) is a prescription medicine used to treat the symptoms of Chronic Lymphatic (Lymphocytic) Leukemia and Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Leukeran may be used alone or with other medications. Leukeran belongs to a class of drugs called Antineoplastics, Alkylating. It is...
What is sargramostim, and how does it work (mechanism of action)? Sargramostim is a man-made form of the naturally-occurring protein, granulocyte, macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF). GM-CSF is produced in the body by the immune system and stimulates the formation of white blood cells, including the granulocyte and the macrophage. Granulocytes and macrophages take part in...
What is Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine), and how does it work? Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine), as a single agent, is indicated for the treatment of patients with HER2-positive, metastatic breast cancer who previously received trastuzumab and a taxane, separately or in combination. Patients should have either: Received prior therapy for metastatic disease, or...
What kind of drug is Herceptin (trastuzumab), and how does it work? Herceptin is an intravenous drug that is part of a chemotherapy regimen that is used to prevent recurrence of breast cancer, and for the treatment breast cancer that has spread beyond the breast (metastasized). It belongs to a class of drugs called monoclonal...
What is Keytruda (pembrolizumab), and how does it work? Keytruda is a prescription medicine used to treat: a kind of skin cancer called melanoma. Keytruda may be used: when your melanoma has spread or cannot be removed by surgery (advanced melanoma), or to help prevent melanoma from coming back after it and lymph nodes that...
Generic drug: enasidenib Brand name: Idhifa What is Idhifa (enasidenib), and how does it work? Idhifa (enasidenib) is a prescription medicine used to treat people with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with an isocitrate dehydrogenase-2 (IDH2) mutation whose disease has come back or has not improved after previous treatment(s). It is not known if Idhifa is...
Generic drug: tivozanib Brand name: Fotivda What is Fotivda (tivozanib), and how does it work? Fotivda (tivozanib) is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with advanced kidney cancer (advanced renal cell carcinoma or RCC) that has been treated with 2 or more prior medicines and has come back or did not respond to treatment....
What is erlotinib, and how does it work (mechanism of action)? Erlotinib is a synthetic (man-made) oral drug that is used for treating cancer. It is approved for treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). There are more than 1.2 million cases worldwide of lung cancer each year, causing one death every 3 seconds. According...
What is letrozole, and how does it work (mechanism of action)? Letrozole is an oral, anti-estrogen drug that is used for treating postmenopausal women with breast cancer. The growth of some breast cancers in postmenopausal women is promoted by estrogens that circulate in the blood, and the adrenal glands are the main source of these...
What is Folotyn, and how does it work? Folotyn (pralatrexate injection) is an antineoplastic (anti-cancer) drug used to treat T-cell lymphoma that has spread throughout the body. Folotyn is given for relapsed T-cell lymphoma, or after other medications have been tried without successful treatment. What are the side effects of Folotyn? Common side effects of...