On June 17, 1996, injectable irinotecan
hydrochloride was approved as a treatment for
metastatic cancer of the
colon or
rectum; it is also used to treat some
lymphomas. The drug is available under the
generic name irinotecan and is also marketed under the trade name Camptosar. The drug is normally prescribed in
colorectal cancer cases that haven't responded to standard treatment with the
chemotherapy agent
fluorouracil. The drug is can cause
nausea, lowered
white blood cell counts, decreased
platelet counts (with an accompanying risk of bleeding), severe
anemia, fatigue, and gastrointestinal upsets.
This drug is a chemical relative of camptothecin and topotecan and is a a topoisomerase I inhibitor. It is given intravenously over the course of a 90-minute period.