Oxaliplatin 5mg/Ml Concentrate For Solution For Infusion
PIL
20/09/2016
Sandoz Ltd
Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml Concentrate for Solution for Infusion
PL 04416/1450
Package leaflet: Information for the patient
Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml Concentrate for Solution for Infusion
Oxaliplatin
Read all of this leaflet carefully before you are given this medicine because it contains important information for you.
• Keep this leaflet. You may need to read it again.
• If you have any further questions, ask your doctor or nurse.
• If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. See section 4.
What is in this leaflet:
1. What Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml is and what it is used for
2. What you need to know before you are given Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml
3. How Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml is used
4. Possible side effects
5 How to store Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml
6. Contents of the pack and other information
1. What Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml is and what it is used for
Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml is an anticancer medicine and contains the active substance oxaliplatin.
Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml is used for treating bowel cancer after it has been removed by surgery or when it has already spread.
Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml is used in combination with other anticancer medicines called 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and folinic acid (FA).
2.What you need to know before you are given Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml You should not be given Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml:
• if you are allergic to oxaliplatin or to any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in section 6)
• if you are breast-feeding
• if you already have a reduced number of blood cells
• if you already have tingling and numbness in the fingers and/or toes, and have difficulty performing delicate tasks, such as buttoning clothes
• if you have severe kidney problems
Warnings and precautions:
Talk to your doctor before you are given Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml
• if you have ever suffered an allergic reaction to platinum-containing medicines such as carboplatin, cisplatin. Allergic reactions can occur during any oxaliplatin infusion.
• if you have mild or moderate kidney problems
• if you have any liver problems or abnormal liver function test results during your treatment
• If you have or had heart disorders such as an abnormal electrical signal called prolongation of the QT interval, an irregular heartbeat, or a family history of heart problems.
If any of the following applies to you at any time, tell your doctor immediately. Your doctor may need to treat you for these events. Your doctor may need to reduce the dose of Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml , or delay or stop your treatment with Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml
• If you have an unpleasant sensation in the throat, in particular when swallowing, and have a sensation of shortness of breath, during the treatment, tell your doctor.
• If you have nerve problems in your hands or feet, such as numbness or tingling, or decreased sensations in your hands or feet, tell your doctor.
• If you have headache, altered mental functioning, seizures and abnormal vision from blurriness to vision loss, tell your doctor.
• If you feel or are sick (nausea or vomiting), tell your doctor.
• If you have severe diarrhoea, tell your doctor.
• If you have sore lips or mouth ulcers (mucositis/ stomatitis), tell your doctor.
• If you have diarrhoea, or a reduction in white blood cells or platelets, tell your doctor. Your doctor may reduce the dose of Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml or postpone your treatment with Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml
• If you have unexplained respiratory symptoms such as cough, or any difficulties in breathing, tell your doctor. Your doctor may stop your treatment with Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml
• If you develop an extreme tiredness, shortness of breath, or kidney disease where you pass little or no urine (symptoms of acute renal failure), tell your doctor.
• If you have fever (temperature greater than or equal to 38°C), or chills, which could be signs of infection, tell your doctor immediately. You may be at risk of getting an infection of the blood.
• If you have fever > 38°C, tell your doctor. Your doctor may determine you also have a
• reduction in white blood cells.
• If you experience unexpected bleeding or bruising (disseminated intravascular coagulation), tell your doctor as these could be signs of blood clots throughout the small vessels of your body.
• If you faint (lose consciousness) or have an irregular heartbeat while taking Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml, tell your doctor immediately as this may be a sign of a serious heart condition.
• If you experience muscle pain and swelling, in combination with weakness, fever, or redbrown urine, tell your doctor. These could be signs of muscle damage (rhabdomyolysis) and could lead to kidney problems or other complications.
• If you have abdominal pain, nausea, bloody vomit or vomit that looks like “coffee grounds”, or dark-colored/ tarry stools, which may be signs of an ulcer of the bowel (gastrointestinal ulcer, with potential bleeding or perforation), tell your doctor.
• If you have abdominal (tummy) pain, bloody diarrhea, and nausea and/or vomiting, which may be caused by a reduction of blood flow to your gut wall (intestinal ischaemia), tell your doctor.
Other medicines and Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml
Tell your doctor if you are using, have recently used or might use any other medicines.
Pregnancy, breast-feeding and fertility
Pregnancy
• It is not recommended that you become pregnant during treatment with oxaliplatin and must use an effective method of contraception. Female patients should take appropriate contraceptive measures during and after cessation of therapy continuing for 4 months.
• If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy it is very important that you discuss this with your doctor before you receive any treatment.
• If you get pregnant during your treatment, you must immediately inform your doctor.
Breast-feeding
• You must not breast-feed while you are treated with oxaliplatin.
Fertility
• Oxaliplatin may have an anti-fertility effect, which could be irreversible. Male patients should seek advice on conservation of sperm prior to treatment.
• Male patients are advised not to father a child during treatment and until 6 months after treatment, and to take appropriate contraceptive measures during this time.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking any medicine.
Driving and using machines
Oxaliplatin treatment may result in an increase risk of dizziness, nausea and vomiting, and other neurological symptoms that affect walking and balance. If this happens you should not drive or operate machinery. If you have vision problems while taking Oxaliplatin, do not drive, operate heavy machines, or engage in dangerous activities.
3. How Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml is given
This medicine will be administered by medical personnel; do not take it yourself.
Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml is intended in adults only.
Dosage
The dose of Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml is based on your body surface area. This is calculated from your height and weight.
The usual dose for adults including the elderly is 85 mg/m2 of body surface area. The dose you receive will also depend on results of blood tests and whether you have previously experienced side effects with Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml.
Method and route of administration
• Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml will be prescribed for you by a specialist in cancer treatment.
• You will be treated by a healthcare professional, who will have made up the required dose of Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml.
Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml is given by slow injection into one of your veins (an intravenous infusion) over a 2 to 6 hour period.
• If feelings of discomfort or pain arise at the injection site inform the healthcare professionals immediately.
• Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml will be given to you at the same time as folinic acid and before the infusion of 5 fluorouracil.
Frequency of administration
You should usually receive your infusion once every 2 weeks.
Duration of treatment
The duration of the treatment will be determined by your doctor.
Your treatment will last a maximum of 6 months when used after complete resection of your tumour.
If you received more Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml than you should
As this medicine is administered by a healthcare professional it is highly unlikely that you will be given too much or too little.
In case of overdose you may experience increased side effects. Your doctor may give you appropriate treatment for these side effects.
If administration of Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml is forgotten
Your doctor will decide on what time you will receive this medicine. If you think you missed a dose, please contact your doctor as soon as possible.
If you have any questions about your treatment ask your doctor or pharmacist.
4. Possible side effects
Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.
If you experience any side effect it is important that you inform your doctor before your next treatment.
Tell your doctor immediately, if you notice any of the following:
• Symptoms of an allergic or anaphylactic reaction with sudden signs such as rash, itching or hives on the skin, difficulties in swallowing, swelling of the face, lips, tongue or other parts of the body, shortness of breath, wheezing or trouble breathing, extreme tiredness (you may feel you are going to faint). In the majority of cases, these symptoms occurred during the infusion or immediately after but delayed allergic reactions have also been observed hours or even days after the infusion.
• Abnormal bruising, bleeding, or signs of infection such as a sore throat and high temperature
• Persistent or severe diarrhoea or vomiting
• Presence of blood or dark brown coffee-coloured particles in your vomit
• Stomatitis/mucositis (sore lips or mouth ulcers)
• Unexplained respiratory symptoms such as dry cough, difficulties in breathing or crackles
• A group of symptoms such as headache, altered mental functioning, seizures and abnormal vision from blurriness to vision loss (symptoms of reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome, a rare neurological disorder)
• Extreme tiredness with decreased number of red blood cells, and shortness of breath (haemolytic anaemia), alone or combined with low platelet count, abnormal bruising (thrombocytopenia) and kidney disease where you pass little or no urine (symptoms of Haemolytic-uraemic syndrome)
Other known side effects of Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml:
Very common (may affect more than 1 in 10 people):
• Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml can affect the nerves (peripheral neuropathy). You may feel a tingling and/or numbness in the fingers, toes, around the mouth or in the throat that may sometimes occur in association with cramps. These effects are often triggered by exposure to cold e.g. opening a refrigerator or holding a cold drink. You may also have difficulty in performing delicate tasks, such as buttoning clothes. Although in the majority of cases these symptoms resolve completely there is a possibility of persistent symptoms after the end of the treatment Some people have experienced a tingling, shocklike sensation passing down the arms or trunk when the neck is flexed.
• Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml can sometimes cause an unpleasant sensation in the throat, in particular when swallowing, and give the sensation of shortness of breath. This sensation, if it happens, usually occurs during or within hours of the infusion and may be triggered by exposure to the cold. Although unpleasant, it will not last long and usually subsides without the need for any treatment. Your doctor may decide to alter your treatment as a result.
• Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml may cause diarrhea, mild nausea (feeling sick) and vomiting (being sick). However, medication to prevent sickness is usually given to you by your doctor before treatment and may be continued after treatment.
• Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml causes temporary reduction in the number of blood cells. The reduction of red cells may cause anaemia (a reduction of red cells), abnormal bleeding or bruising (due to a reduction in platelets). The reduction in white blood cells may make you prone to infections.
Your doctor will take blood to check that you have sufficient blood cells before you start treatment and before each subsequent course.
• Sensation of discomfort close to or at the injection site during the infusion.
• Fever, rigors (tremors), tiredness, loss of strength/weakness, body pain
• Weight changes, loss or lack of appetite, taste disorders, constipation
• Headache, back pain
• Swelling of the nerves to your muscles, neck stiffness, abnormal tongue sensation possibly altering speech, stomatitis, mucositis (sore lips or mouth ulcers)
• Stomach pain
• Abnormal bleeding including nosebleeds
• Coughing, difficulty in breathing
• Allergic reactions, skin rash which may be red and itchy, mild hair loss (alopecia),
• Alteration in blood tests including those relating to abnormalities in liver function.
Common (may affect up to 1 in 10 people):
• Infection due to a reduction in white blood cells,
• Serious infection of the blood in addition to a reduction in white blood cells (neutropenic sepsis), which may be fatal,
• Indigestion and heartburn, flushing, hiccups and dizziness
• Increased sweating and nail disorders, flaking skin
• Chest pain
• Runny nose and lung disorders
• Joint pain and bone pain
• Pain on passing urine and changes of kidney function, change in frequency when passing urine, dehydration
• Blood in the urine and stools, swelling of the veins, clots in the lung
• High blood pressure
• Depression, difficulty sleeping
• Conjunctivitis, visual problems
• Dizziness
• Inflammation of nerves leading to muscle spasms, cramps, loss of certain reflexes
• Neck Stiffness, intolerance/dislike of bright light and headache
• Loss of weight
• Decreased levels of calcium in the blood
Uncommon (may affect up to 1 in 100 people):
• Serious infection of the blood(sepsis), which may be fatal
• Nervousness
• Hearing problems (ototoxicity)
• Impaired or blocked bowel passage
• Disturbance in the body's acid-base balance
Rare (may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people):
• Reduction in blood platelets due to an allergic reaction associated with bruises and abnormal bleeding (immunoallergic thrombocytopenia)
• Reduction in red blood cells caused by cell destruction
• Slurred speech
• Temporary fall in visual acuity; visual field disturbances, reversible short-term vision loss, inflammation of the optic nerve
• Deafness (loss of hearing)
• Scarring and thickening in the lungs with difficulties in breathing, sometimes fatal (interstitial lung disease)
• Bowel inflammation causing abdominal pain or diarrhoea, including severe bacterial infection (Clostridium difficile)
• Pancreatitis
• Unexpected bleeding or bruising due to widespread blood clots throughout the small blood vessels of the body (disseminated intravascular coagulation), which may be fatal.
• Very rare (may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people): Vascular disorders of liver.
• Changes in kidney function, kidney disease where you pass little or no urine (symptoms of acute renal failure)
• Presence of blood or dark brown coffee-coloured particles in your vomit.
Frequency not known (cannot be estimated from the available data):
• Convulsion (uncontrolled shaking of the body)
• Serious infection of the blood and low blood pressure (septic shock), which may be fatal,
• Spasm of the throat causing difficulty in breathing,
• Extreme tiredness with decreased number of red blood cells, and shortness of breath (haemolytic anaemia), alone or combined with low platelet count and kidney disease where you pass little or no urine (symptoms of Haemolytic-uraemic syndrome), which may be fatal, have been reported.
• Allergic vasculitis (inflammation of blood vessels)
• Auto-immune reaction leading to reduction of all blood cell lines (autoimmune pancytopenia).
• Abnormal heart rhythm (QT prolongation), that can be seen on electrocardiogram (ECG), which may be fatal,
• Muscle pain and swelling, in combination with weakness, fever, or red-brown urine (symptoms of muscle damage called rhabdomyolysis), which may be fatal
• Abdominal pain, nausea, bloody vomit or vomit that looks like “coffee grounds”, or dark colored/tarry stools (symptoms of gastrointestinal ulcer, with potential bleeding or perforation), which may be fatal,
• Decreased blood flow to the intestine/bowel (intestinal ischaemia), which may be fatal.
Reporting of side effects
If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme (www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard). By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.
5. How to store Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml
Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.
Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the label and on the carton after EXP. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
Do not freeze.
Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml should not come into contact with the eyes or skin. If there is any accidental spillage, tell the doctor or nurse immediately.
When the infusion has finished, Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml will be disposed of carefully by the doctor or nurse.
Solution for infusion:
After dilution in glucose 50 mg/ml (5 %) solution for infusion, chemical and physical in-use stability has been demonstrated for 48 hours at 2 - 8°C and for 6 hours at 15 - 25°C.
From a microbiological point of view, the infusion preparation should be used immediately.
If not used immediately, in-use storage times and conditions prior to use are the responsibility of the user and would normally not be longer than 24 hours at 2°C to 8°C unless dilution has taken place in controlled and validated aseptic conditions.
Inspect visually prior to use. Do not use this medicine if you notice particles in the diluted solution.
6. Contents of the pack and other information
What Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml contains
• The active substance is oxaliplatin.
1 ml of concentrate for solution for infusion contains 5 mg of oxaliplatin.
• The other ingredient is water for injections.
What Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml looks like and contents of the pack
Oxaliplatin 5 mg/ml is a clear colourless liquid.
The medicinal product comes in plastic containers called vials.
50 mg vial: each vial contains 10 ml concentrate for solution for infusion. 100 mg vial: each vial contains 20 ml concentrate for solution for infusion. 150 mg vial: each vial contains 30 ml concentrate for solution for infusion. 200 mg vial: each vial contains 40 ml concentrate for solution for infusion
Pack sizes: 1, 5 and 10 vial(s).
Not all pack sizes may be marketed.
Marketing Authorisation Holder and Manufacturer
Marketing Authorisation Holder
Sandoz Ltd
Frimley Business Park
Frimley
Camberley
Surrey
GU16 7SR
United Kingdom
Manufacturer Salutas Pharma GmbH Otto-von-Guericke-Allee 1, 39179 Barleben Germany
Or
Lek Pharmaceuticals d.d.
Verovskova 57, 1526 Ljubljana Slovenia
This leaflet was last revised in 09/2016.
The following information is intended for medical or healthcare professionals only:
Instructions for use
CYTOSTATIC
HANDLING OXALIPLATIN 5 MG/ML
As with other potentially toxic compounds, caution should be exercised when handling and preparing oxaliplatin solutions.
Instructions for Handling
The handling of this cytotoxic agent by nursing or medical personnel requires every precaution to guarantee the protection of the handler and his surroundings.
The preparation of injectable solutions of cytotoxic agents must be carried out by trained specialist personnel with knowledge of the medicinal products used. The conditions must guarantee the integrity of the product, the protection of the environment and particularly the protection of the personnel handling the medicines, in accordance with the hospital policy. It requires a preparation area reserved for this purpose. It is forbidden to smoke, eat or drink in this area.
Personnel must be provided with appropriate handling materials, notably long sleeved gowns, protection masks, caps, protective goggles, sterile single-use gloves, protective covers for the work area, containers and collection bags for waste.
Excreta and vomit must be handled with care.
Pregnant women must be warned to avoid handling cytotoxic agents.
Any broken container must be treated with the same precautions and considered as contaminated waste. Contaminated waste should be incinerated in suitably labelled rigid containers. See below chapter “Disposal”.
If oxaliplatin concentrate or solution for infusion should come into contact with skin, wash immediately and thoroughly with water.
If oxaliplatin concentrate or solution for infusion should come into contact with mucous membranes, wash immediately and thoroughly with water._
Special precautions for administration
• - DO NOT use injection equipment containing aluminium.
• - DO NOT administer undiluted.
• Only glucose 50 mg/ml (5 %) solution for infusion is to be used as a diluent. DO NOT dilute for infusion with sodium chloride or chloride containing solutions.
• DO NOT mix with any other medicinal products in the same infusion bag or administer simultaneously by the same infusion line.
• DO NOT mix with alkaline medicinal products or solutions, in particular 5-fluorouracil, folinic acid preparations containing trometamol as an excipient and trometamol salts of others medicinal products active substances. Alkaline medicinal products or solutions will adversely affect the stability of oxaliplatin.
Instruction for use with folinic acid (as calcium folinate or disodium folinate)
Oxaliplatin 85mg/m2 intravenous infusion in 250 to 500 ml of glucose 50 mg/ml (5 %) solution for infusion is given at the same time as folinic acid (FA) intravenous infusion in glucose 50 mg/ml (5 %) solution for infusion, over 2 to 6 hours, using a Y-line placed immediately before the site of infusion. These two medicinal products should not be combined in the same infusion bag. Folinic acid must not contain trometamol as an excipient and must only be diluted using isotonic glucose 50 mg/ml (5 %) solution for infusion, never in alkaline solutions or sodium chloride or chloride containing solutions.
Instruction for use with 5-FU
Oxaliplatin should always be administered before fluoropyrimidines - i.e. 5-fluorouracil (5-FU).
After oxaliplatin administration, flush the line and then administer 5-fluorouracil (5-FU).
For additional information on medicinal products combined with oxaliplatin, see the corresponding summary of product characteristics.
USE ONLY the recommended solvents (see below).
Concentrate for solution for infusion
Inspect visually prior to use. Only clear solutions without particles should be used. Dilution before infusion
Withdraw the required amount of concentrate from the vial(s) and then dilute with 250 ml to 500 ml of a glucose 50 mg/ml (5 %) solution for infusion to give an oxaliplatin concentration between 0.2 mg/ml and 0.7 mg/ml. The concentration range over which the physico-chemical stability of oxaliplatin has been demonstrated is 0.2 mg/ml to 2 mg/ml.
Administer by intravenous infusion.
After dilution in glucose 50 mg/ml (5 %) solution for infusion, chemical and physical in-use stability has been demonstrated for 48 hours at 2 - 8°C and for 6 hours at 15 - 25°C.
From a microbiological point of view, this infusion preparation should be used immediately.
If not used immediately, in-use storage times and conditions prior to use are the responsibility of the user.
Inspect visually prior to use. Only clear solutions without particles should be used.
The medicinal product is for single use only. Any unused infusion solution should be discarded.
NEVER use sodium chloride or chloride containing solutions for dilution.
The compatibility of Oxaliplatin solution for infusion has been tested with representative, PVC-based, administration sets.
Infusion
The administration of oxaliplatin does not require prehydration.
Oxaliplatin diluted in 250 to 500 ml of a glucose 50 mg/ml (5 %) solution for infusion to give a concentration not less than 0.2 mg/ml must be infused either by peripheral vein or central venous line over 2 to 6 hours. When oxaliplatin is administered with 5-fluorouracil the oxaliplatin infusion must precede the administration of 5-fluorouracil.
Incompatibilities
The medicinal product should not be mixed with other medicinal products in the same infusion bag or infusion line.
- DO NOT mix the concentrate for solution for infusion and the diluted medicinal product with any other medication in the same infusion bag or administer simultaneously by the same infusion line in the absence of compatibility studies. Under instructions for use described in section “Instruction for use with folinic acid (as calcium folinate or disodium folinate)” oxaliplatin can be co-administered with folinic acid via a Y-line.
- DO NOT mix with alkaline medicines or solutions, in particular 5-fluorouracil, folinic acid preparations containing trometamol as an excipient and trometamol salts of other medicines. Alkaline medicines or solutions will adversely affect the stability of oxaliplatin
- DO NOT dilute oxaliplatin with saline or other solutions containing chloride ions (including calcium, potassium or sodium chlorides). Only glucose 50 mg/ml (5 %) solution for infusion is to be used as a diluent.
- DO NOT use injection equipment containing aluminium.
Disposal
Remnants of the medicinal product as well as all materials that have been used for dilution and administration must be destroyed according to hospital standard procedures applicable to cytotoxic agents and with due regard to current laws related to the disposal of hazardous waste.
PIL.1450.004.0d Updated SPC,PIL & LABEL in line with Reference product texts AR