Necitumumab Injection

Necitumumab injection may cause a serious and life-threatening problem of heart rhythm and breathing. Your doctor will order certain tests before your infusion, during your infusion, and for at least 8 weeks after your final dose to check your body’s response to necitumumab. Tell your doctor if you have or have ever had lower than normal levels of magnesium, potassium, or calcium in your blood, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), high blood pressure, heart rhythm problems, or other heart problems. If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately: chest pain; shortness of breath; dizziness; loss of consciousness; or fast, irregular, or pounding heartbeat.

Keep all appointments with your doctor and the laboratory.

Talk to your doctor about the risks of receiving necitumumab injection.

🔔 Why is this medication prescribed?

Necitumumab injection is used with gemcitabine (Gemzar) and cisplatin to treat a certain type of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has spread to other parts of the body. Necitumumab injection is in a class of medications called monoclonal antibodies. It works by helping your immune system to slow or stop the growth of cancer cells.

🔔 How should this medicine be used?

Necitumumab injection comes as a liquid to be given intravenously (into a vein) over 1 hour by a doctor or nurse in a medical facility. It is usually given on certain days every 3 weeks. The length of treatment depends on how well your body responds to the medication and the side effects that you experience.

Your doctor may need to stop or delay your treatment if you experience certain side effects. It is important for you to tell your doctor how you are feeling during your treatment with necitumumab.

If your health insurer denies your claim or treatment, you have very little time to act. Appeals to Medicare must be filed within 90 days in the most lenient states, with even shorter deadlines in some states, and many insurers and healthcare providers will turn over unpaid medical bills to collection agencies after just 60 days, the AARP

You may experience symptoms such as fever, chills, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing while you are receiving or following a dose of necitumumab, especially the first or second dose. Tell your doctor or other healthcare provider if you experience these symptoms during your treatment. If you experience a reaction to necitumumab, your doctor may stop giving you the medication for a time or may give it to you more slowly. Your doctor may prescribe other medications to help prevent or relieve these symptoms. Your doctor will tell you to take these medications before you receive each dose of necitumumab.

🔔 Other uses for this medicine

This medication may be prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.