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NIPENT is a brand name for Pentostatin. The medicine, its uses, side effects and dosage are the same regardless of brand.
Used for: Pentostatin is indicated as single agent therapy in the treatment of adult patients with hairy cell leukaemia.
Verbatim from this product's MHRA label. Tap a section to expand.
Pentostatin is indicated for adult patients. 45% saline or equivalent before pentostatin administration. 45% saline or equivalent should be administered after pentostatin is given. The recommended dosage of pentostatin for the treatment of hairy cell leukaemia is 4 mg/m2 in a single administration every other week.
Pentostatin may be given intravenously by bolus injection or diluted in a larger volume and given over 20 to 30 minutes. ) Higher doses are not recommended. No extravasation injuries were reported in clinical studies. The optimal duration of treatment has not been determined.
In the absence of major toxicity and with observed continuing improvement, the patient should be treated until a complete response has been achieved. Although not established as required, the administration of two additional doses has been recommended following the achievement of a complete response.
All patients receiving pentostatin at 6 months should be assessed for response to treatment. If the patient has not achieved a complete or partial response, treatment with pentostatin should be discontinued. If the patient has achieved a partial response, pentostatin treatment should be continued in an effort to achieve a complete response.
At any time after a complete response is achieved, two additional doses of pentostatin are recommended. Pentostatin treatment should then be stopped. If the best response to treatment at the end of 12 months is a partial response, it is recommended that treatment with pentostatin be stopped.
Withholding or discontinuation of individual doses may be needed when severe adverse reactions occur. Drug treatment should be withheld in patients with severe rash, and withheld or discontinued in patients showing evidence of nervous system toxicity.
Pentostatin treatment should be withheld in patients with active infection occurring during the treatment but may be resumed when the infection is controlled. Dosage in Patients with Cytopenias No dosage reduction is recommended at the start of therapy with pentostatin in patients with anaemia, neutropenia, or thrombocytopenia.
In addition, dosage reductions are not recommended during treatment in patients with anaemia and thrombocytopenia. Pentostatin should be temporarily withheld if the absolute neutrophil count during treatment falls below 200 cells/mm3 in a patient who had an initial neutrophil count greater than 500 cells/mm3 and may be resumed when the count returns to predose levels.
Pentostatin is lymphotoxic. Aside from myelosuppression, pentostatin is immunosuppressive in particular by suppression of the CD4+ lymphocyte subset. CD4+ counts smaller than 200 per μl are usually seen during treatment with pentostatin and CD4+ count suppression can outlast the end of treatment by more than 6 months.
With the exception of frequent herpes zoster infections the clinical consequences of the suppression of CD4+ counts in hairy cell leukaemia are not well understood yet. Long term consequences are not predictable, but currently there is no evidence for higher frequency of secondary malignancies.
The following adverse events were reported during clinical studies in patients with hairy cell leukaemia who were refractory to alpha-interferon or were treated as front-line therapy. Most patients experienced an adverse event. The most commonly reported reactions were nausea and/or vomiting or leucopenia, each occurring in about 60% of patients.
Fever, rash and fatigue were reported in about 40% of patients. Most adverse events were either mild or moderate diminished in frequency with continued therapy. Twelve percent of patients withdrew from treatment due to an adverse event.
Many hairy cell leukaemia patients experience adverse events while under therapy with pentostatin. Given the natural history of the disease and the pharmacological properties of the drug it may be difficult in certain cases to discriminate between drug-related and disease-related adverse events.
No extravasation injuries were reported in clinical studies. The following adverse reactions have been reported during clinical studies in patients with HCL or during post-authorization use of pentostatin, either as single agent or in combinations with various agents for unapproved indications.
1%) Body System Frequency Adverse Reaction Infections and Infestations Very common (> 10%) Upper respiratory infection, Rhinitis, Pharyngitis, Viral infection Common1 (1-10%) Herpes Zoster, Infection (unspecified), Sinusitis, Cellulitis, Bacterial infection, Pneumonia, Conjunctivitis, Furunculosis, Herpes simplex, Bronchitis, Sepsis, Urinary tract infection, Abscess skin, Oral Candidiasis, Mycotic skin infection, Peri- anal abscess, E.
Warnings Pentostatin should be administered under the supervision of a physician qualified and experienced in the use of cancer chemotherapeutic agents. 2) is not recommended. Dose-limiting severe renal, liver, pulmonary, and CNS toxicities occurred in Phase 1 studies that used pentostatin at a higher dose (20-50 mg/m2/course) than recommended.
In a clinical investigation in patients with refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia using pentostatin at the recommended dose in combination with fludarabine phosphate, four of six patients entered on the study had severe or fatal pulmonary toxicity.
The use of pentostatin in combination with fludarabine phosphate is not recommended. Biochemical studies have demonstrated that pentostatin enhances the effects of vidarabine, a purine nucleoside with antiviral activity. The combined use of vidarabine and pentostatin may result in an increase in adverse reactions associated with each drug.
The therapeutic benefit of the drug combination has not been established. Patients with hairy cell leukaemia may experience myelosuppression primarily during the first few courses of treatment. Patients with infections prior to pentostatin treatment have in some cases developed worsening of their condition leading to death; whereas others have achieved complete response.
Patients with infection should be treated only when the potential benefit of treatment justifies the potential risk to the patient. Efforts should be made to control the infection before treatment is initiated or resumed. In patients with progressive hairy cell leukaemia, the initial courses of pentostatin treatment were associated with worsening of neutropaenia.
Therefore, frequent monitoring of complete blood counts during this time is necessary. If severe neutropenia continues beyond the initial cycles, patient should be evaluated for disease status, including a bone marrow examination. Pentostatin might have harmful effects on the genotype.
Pentostatin is contraindicated in patients who have demonstrated hypersensitivity to the active ingredient or to any of the excipients. Pentostatin is contraindicated in patients with impaired renal function (Creatinine clearance < 60 mL/min).
Pentostatin is contraindicated in patients with active infection.
Not medical advice. Always read the patient information leaflet and follow your prescriber or pharmacist.
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2). Creatinine clearance should be determined prior to each administration of NIPENT. Liver Impairment Because of limited experience treating patients with abnormal liver function, treatment of such patients should be done with caution.
Administration to Elderly Patients The recommended dosage of pentostatin for the treatment of hairy cell leukaemia in the elderly is 4 mg/m2 in a single administration every other week. Clinical trials have included patients over 65 years old and no adverse reactions specific to this age group have been reported.
Paediatric Use Hairy cell leukaemia is a disease affecting adults, most commonly in the sixth decade of life. Safety and effectiveness of Nipent in children have not been established.
1-1%) Pure red cell aplasia, Autoimmune haemolytic anaemia, Anaemia-Haemolytic, Aplastic anaemia haemolytic uremic syndrome, Idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura, Thrombotic thrombocytopenia purpura. 1%) Blepharitis Very rare Unilateral uveitis with vision loss Ear and Labyrinth Disorders: Common1 (1-10%) Deafness, Ear pain, Labyrinthitis, Tinnitus Cardiac Disorders Common1 (1-10%) Angina pectoris, Arrhythmia, A-V block, Bradycardia, Extrasystoles ventricular, Heart arrest, Heart failure, Pericardial effusion, Sinus arrest, Tachycardia, Atrial Body System Frequency Adverse Reaction fibrillation, Cardiac failure congestive, Flushing, Abnormal electrocardiogram.
1%) Alveolitis, Alveolitis fibrosing, Cryptogenic organizing pneumonia, Diffuse alveolar damage, Obstructive airway disease, Pulmonary alveolar haemorrhage Gastrointestinal Disorders Very common (> 10%) Nausea and/or […]
Therefore, it is recommended that men undergoing treatment with pentostatin should not father a child during treatment up to 3 months thereafter. Contraception is to be guaranteed for women of childbearing age during treatment and for at least 6 months following the last dose of pentostatin.
6, Fertility, pregnancy and lactation). Bone Marrow Transplant Regimen with high dose cyclophosphamide Acute pulmonary oedema and hypotension leading to death, have been reported in the literature in patients treated with pentostatin in combination with carmustine, etoposide and high dose cyclophosphamide as part of an ablative regimen for bone marrow transplant.
The combination of pentostatin and high dose cyclophosphamide is not recommended. Elevations in liver function tests occurred during treatment with pentostatin and were generally reversible. Renal toxicity was observed at higher doses in early studies; however, in patients treated at the recommended dose, elevations in serum creatinine were usually minor and reversible.
There were some patients who began treatment with normal renal function who had evidence of mild to moderate toxicity at a final assessment. ) Rashes, occasionally severe, were commonly reported and may worsen with continued treatment.
Withholding of treatment may be required. ) Extra care should be taken in treating patients beginning therapy with poor performance. Precautions Therapy with pentostatin requires regular patient observation and monitoring of haematologic parameters and blood chemistry values.
2]) and appropriate corrective measures should be taken according to the clinical judgement of the physician. Pentostatin treatment should be withheld or discontinued in patients showing evidence of nervous system toxicity. Prior to initiating therapy with pentostatin, renal function should be assessed with a serum creatinine and/or a creatinine clearance assay.
) Complete blood counts, serum creatinine, and BUN should be performed before each dose of pentostatin and at appropriate periods during therapy. Severe neutropenia has been observed following the early courses of treatment with pentostatin and therefore frequent monitoring of complete blood counts is recommended during this time.
If haematologic parameters do not improve with subsequent courses, patients should be evaluated for disease status, including a bone marrow examination. Periodic monitoring of the peripheral blood for hairy cells should be performed to assess the response to treatment.
In addition, bone marrow aspirates and biopsies may be required at 2 to 3 month intervals to assess the response to treatment. Excipient Information This medicinal product contains less than 1 mmol sodium (23 mg) per vial, that is to say essentially ‘sodium-free’.