What is doxorubicin used to treat?

What is doxorubicin used to treat?

Doxorubicin is used in combination with other medications to treat certain types of bladder, breast, lung, stomach, and ovarian cancer; Hodgkin’s lymphoma (Hodgkin’s disease) and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (cancer that begins in the cells of the immune system); and certain types of leukemia (cancer of the white blood cells …

Is doxorubicin a chemotherapy?

Drug Type: Doxorubicin is an anti-cancer (“antineoplastic” or “cytotoxic”) chemotherapy drug. Doxorubicin is classified as an “anthracycline antibiotic.” (For more detail, see “How Doxorubicin Works” section below).

Is doxorubicin the Red Devil?

Due to these side effects and its red color, doxorubicin has earned the nickname “red devil” or “red death.”

Why is doxorubicin called the Red Devil?

This agent has earned its infamous nickname, the red devil, based on its bright red (Kool-Aid red) color, vesicant properties, and side-effect profile, including hair loss, myelosuppression, nausea and vomiting, mouth sores, and rare but serious cardiotoxicity.

What does doxorubicin do to the heart?

Doxorubicin causes both early and late heart damage (also called cardiotoxicity). The early damage occurs immediately after drug administration or within 1 to 2 days. There are minor effects that are picked up on the electrocardiogram (EKG) and in most cases resolve without causing any major problems.

What does Red Devil chemo do?

Is Adriamycin a strong chemo? Adriamycin is a chemotherapy medication that is used to kill cancer cells in the body. Unfortunately, it can also kill other cells in the body as well and is considered to be a hazardous medication.

Do you lose your hair with doxorubicin?

v Hair loss is unusual with liposomal doxorubicin, but some patients do experience more hair loss than others. If hair loss occurs, hair growth should return upon completion of treatment.

What is the most common side effect of doxorubicin?

Commonly reported side effects of doxorubicin include: severe nausea and vomiting, nausea and vomiting, and alopecia.

Which is the most serious side effect of doxorubicin?

Get medical help right away if you have any very serious side effects, including: chest pain. Within days to weeks after doxorubicin treatment, a serious skin reaction that looks likes a severe sunburn (radiation recall) may develop on any area of skin that has been previously treated with radiation.

Why does H stand for doxorubicin?

Each letter in R-CHOP stands for a different drug, but the acronym can be confusing in that a single drug sometimes has more than one name: R = Rituximab. C = Cyclophosphamide. H = Doxorubicin Hydrochloride (Hydroxydaunomycin)

Why is doxorubicin so bad?

It is well recognized that doxorubicin may cause damage to the heart in some individuals. While other anthracyclines (like epirubicin and mitoxantrone) may also cause heart damage, the chances are more common with doxorubicin. Doxorubicin causes both early and late heart damage (also called cardiotoxicity).

Why is doxorubicin fatal?

While an effective anti-tumor agent, doxorubicin causes cumulative and dose-dependent cardiotoxicity, ranging from occult changes in myocardial structure and function to severe cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure that may result in cardiac transplantation or death1,2,3,4,5,6.

Does doxorubicin cause weight gain?

Weight gain is a common complaint in people taking doxorubicin hydrochloride (Adriamycin ®, Doxil ®). Weight gain with nonliposomal doxorubicin ( Adriamycin ) occurs in up to 14.4 percent of people taking the drug.

What is the antidote for doxorubicin?

Drug type: Dexrazoxane is a drug used to reduce the undesired side effects of doxorubicin, a chemotherapy medication. This medication is classified as a “chemoprotectant agent.”. It can also be classified as an “extravasation antidote.”.

What does doxorubicin mean?

Definition of doxorubicin. : an antibiotic with broad antineoplastic activity that is obtained from a bacterium (Streptomyces peucetius) and is administered in the form of its hydrochloride C 27H 29NO 11·HCl.

What is the Red Devil treatment for cancer?

Doxorubicin is the generic name for the chemotherapy drug Adriamycin (chemocare.com). Doxorubicin is classified as an anthracycline, and it is used to treat breast cancer, bladder cancer, some leukemias, multiple myeloma, ovarian cancer and uterine cancer, among others (chemocare.com). It has the nickname “the red devil” due to its red color.