Pertuzumab Injection

Pertuzumab injection may cause serious or life-threatening heart problems, including heart failure. Tell your doctor if you have recently had a heart attack or if you have or ever had high blood pressure, heart failure, an abnormal heart rhythm, or heart disease. Your doctor will check your heart function before and during your treatment. If you experience any of the following symptoms, tell your doctor immediately: shortness of breath, cough, swelling of the ankles, legs, or face, rapid heartbeat, sudden weight gain, dizziness, or loss of consciousness.

Pertuzumab injection should not be used by women who are pregnant or who may become pregnant. There is a risk that pertuzumab will cause loss of the pregnancy or will cause the baby to be born with birth defects (physical problems that are present at birth). Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. You will need to have a pregnancy test before you receive this medication. You should use effective birth control during treatment with pertuzumab injection and for 7 months after your final dose. Talk to your doctor about birth control methods that will work for you. If you become pregnant during treatment with pertuzumab injection, or think you might be pregnant, call your doctor immediately.

Keep all appointments with your doctor and the laboratory. Your doctor may order certain tests before and during your treatment to check your body’s response to pertuzumab injection.

Talk to your doctor about the risk of treatment with pertuzumab injection.

🔔 Why is this medication prescribed?

Pertuzumab injection is used along with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and docetaxel (Taxotere) to treat a certain type of breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. It is also used before and after surgery along with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and other chemotherapy medications to treat certain types of early stage breast cancer. Pertuzumab injection is in a class of medications called monoclonal antibodies. It works by stopping the growth of cancer cells.

🔔 How should this medicine be used?

Pertuzumab injection comes as a solution (liquid) to be injected into a vein over a 30 to 60 minutes by a doctor or nurse in a hospital or medical facility. It is usually given every 3 weeks. The length of your treatment depends on how well your body responds to the medication and the side effects that you experience.

Pertuzumab injection may cause serious or possibly life-threatening reactions that may occur while the medication is being given and for a period of time afterwards. Your doctor or nurse will watch you carefully while you receive each dose of pertuzumab injection, and for at least one hour after your first dose and thirty minutes after later doses. Tell your doctor or nurse right away if you experience any of the following symptoms during or shortly after your infusion: shortness of breath, wheezing or noisy breathing, hoarseness, difficulty swallowing, hives, rash, itching, fever, chills, tiredness, headache, weakness, vomiting, unusual taste in the mouth, or muscle pain.