Ibrutinib

[unun]

Radiation from the drug ibrutinib does it harm the people I live with?

[ahuitse]

No radiation from Ibrutinib. It is a drug that is non chemo also

[zaax in reply to ahuitse]

Does that mean you can still go to the Hygienist and the Dentist?

[Cllcanada Top Poster CURE Hero in reply to zaax]

Yes.. but talk to your dentist before hand about prophelactic antibiotics for all dental work and cleanings.

Any extractions, perhaps root canals etc, you need your dentist to talk to you CLL doctor, since there are possible bleeding issues on Imbruvica (ibrutinib), and you may need to stop it for a few days.

~chris

[Ellieoak]

Yes both answers are correct. Hope you do well on Imbruvica !

[W00dfin]

This may be a frequent misunderstanding of the precautions re: no physical contact with the capsules by anyone other than the patient. I would appreciate hearing an explanation for this unusual warning. Thanks

Woodfin

[Cammie in reply to W00dfin]

Wood fin

Numerous drugs have similar warning.

It is especially common in capsules that can be damaged accidentally.

The reasons for such warnings are that if touched by another person than a patient needing treatment that absorption could possibly have the effect of the particular drug.

It’s common in drugs for benign prostrate treatment especially if a broken capsule is handled by a female. The theory is that it could affect their reproductive abilities.

Obviously in the case of ibrutinib a healthy person would not need the effects of killing off lymphocytes and could cause major problems.

Hope this helps

Geoff

[W00dfin in reply to Cammie]

Thanks Geoff

I had not heard of a similar warning before.

Woodfin

[Namor1al]

I have been on Imbrutinib for 8 months now and it has done of exceptional job of manageing my CLL with minimal sside effects. There is no radiation as it is a Kinase base inhibitor that bind to the protien without any radiation.

as it has a blood thinning quality to it, my Oncologist said to discontinue use 5 days before and after surgery and while on antibiotics.

[unun]

I am waiting to see my doctor for further information.

Elimination of Ibrutinib,: after a single oral administration of ibrutinib

90 percent of radioactivity was excreted within 168 hours. 80 percent in feaces and 10 percent in urine. Ibrutinib has a half life of 4-6 hours. Unchanged Ibrutinib accounted for approximately 1 percent of radiolabeled excretion products in feaces, non in urine, with the remainder of the drug being metabolites.

So is the radioactivity produced or is it in the drug itself. I am not a chemist.

If any one can explain is simple terms about this drug I would be grateful.

[Cammie in reply to unun]

Where was this quotedfrom?

If it was a trial paper or research it is highly possible that other drugs were involved and it was some kind of study.

[unun in reply to Cammie]

I think I gained this knowledge from the US drug and foods regulator and then read it again on the EU drug site. I have already asked the specialist oncology nurse about these facts. She spoke to the pharmacist of the hospital. The reply was that the radioactive material was excreted in the urine and feaces.

[unun in reply to Cammie]

Cammie, I went into the sit originally just to find out about the drug and not just its side affect. I did scroll down to the bottom of both the articles. I think the information was under Elimination.

[Cammie in reply to unun]

Unun

Ok I’ve found it!

It appears to me you may have misunderstood the details you read.

From what I understand when trials are ongoing prior to stage 2 it is essential for chemists to understand how the human metabolism copes and how metabolic absorption of drugs takes place. This is part of understanding fully how they work.

As part of finding this information a drug,or part of it may be marked with a radioactive marker so the developing pharmacist can see how the body reacts and gets rid of the drug.

This is probably about getting to know the best dosage etc.

The figures you read were about how the body deals with waste products and copes withtge drug. It was done where a radioactive marker was used.

As said earlier ibrutinib is not a chemotherapy drug but works by binding to an enzyme on the cll cells it then forces them first to proliferate then stops them !

Please check with your medics on this explanation but that’s how I read it!

[unun in reply to Cammie]

Many thanks for you help. I am feeling calmer about this drug now.

[AussieNeil Partner Administrator in reply to unun]

I suspect that you have read a report on a specially made version of the drug with a radioactive element. This would enable the metabolism and elimination of the drug to be determined by measuring how radioactive faeces and urine was after taking this specially made version of Ibrutinib. What you've been prescribed is not radioactive. Ibrutinib doesn't rely on radiation to kill CLL cells; it inhibits a specific enzyme in them - Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase - BTK. Hence the name Ibrutinib - inib means inhibitor and Brut is from Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase.

Neil

[Cammie in reply to AussieNeil]

Neil

I think we posted at the same time!

[unun in reply to AussieNeil]

Many thanks for your reply Neil.