Indication & Dosage |
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| Intravenous |
| TESTICULAR TUMOURS |
| Adult:
For combination therapy: 50-100 mg/m2 BSA/day from days 1-5, or 100 mg/m2 on days 1, 3 and 5. May repeat course at 3-4 wkly intervals after recovery from any toxicity. Inj must be diluted with 5% dextrose or normal saline to give a final concentration of 0.2-0.4 mg/ml and injected over 30-60 minutes. |
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| Intravenous |
| SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER |
| Adult:
35 mg/m2 BSA/day for 4 days to 50 mg/m2 BSA/day for 5 days. May repeat course at 3-4 wkly intervals after recovery from any toxicity. Inj must be diluted with 5% dextrose or normal saline to give a final concentration of 0.2-0.4 mg/ml and injected over 30-60 minutes. When given via oral capsules: the recommended dose is twice the IV dose rounded to the nearest 50 mg. |
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| Administration |
Should be taken on an empty stomach (i.e. At least one hour before food or four hours after food). (Take on an empty stomach.) |
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| Precautions |
Skin reactions may occur with accidental exposure; renal or hepatic disease. Periodic CBCs should be done before, during and after therapy. Increased risk of etoposide-toxicity in patients with low serum albumin. Acrylic material has been shown to crack and leak when used with undiluted etoposide inj. |
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Potentially Life-threatening
Adverse Drug Reactions |
Nausea, vomiting, anorexia, diarrhoea, stomatitis; reversible alopoecia; rarely, disturbances of liver dysfunction, peripheral neuropathy, CNS effects, anaphylactoid reactions; hypotension with IV injection. Local irritation and thrombophloebitis at the site of inj. |
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| Adverse Drug Reactions |
Severe myelosuppression, characterised by leucopaenia and thrombocytopaenia. Cardiotoxicity. Anaphylaxis. |
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| Interactions |
Synergism with other cytotoxic drugs. Caution when admin with drugs that inhibit phosphatase activity. Cyclosporin A may reduce the clearance of etoposide. |
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