PURINETHOL SIDE EFFECTS
- Generic Name: mercaptopurine
- Brand Name: Purinethol
- Drug Class: Antineoplastics, Antimetabolite, IMMUNOMODULATORS
SIDE EFFECTS
The following clinically significant adverse reactions are described elsewhere in the labeling:
- Myelosuppression
- Hepatotoxicity
- Immunosuppression
- Treatment related malignancies
- Macrophage activation syndrome
Clinical Trials Experience
Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice.
Based on multicenter cooperative group ALL trials, the most common adverse reaction occurring in > 20% of patients was myelosuppression, including anemia, neutropenia, lymphopenia and thrombocytopenia. Adverse reactions occurring in 5% to 20% of patients included anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, malaise and rash. Adverse reactions occurring in < 5 % of patients included urticaria, hyperuricemia, oral lesions, increased transaminases, hyperbilirubinemia, hyperpigmentation, infections, and pancreatitis. Oral lesions resemble thrush rather than antifolic ulcerations. Delayed or late adverse reactions include hepatic fibrosis, hyperbilirubinemia, alopecia, pulmonary fibrosis, oligospermia and secondary malignancies.
Drug fever has been reported with mercaptopurine.
Additional adverse reactions that have been reported in patients who have received mercaptopurine include photosensitivity, hypoglycemia, and portal hypertension
SRC: NLM .