Ruxolitinib
Ruxolitinib is used to treat myelofibrosis (a cancer of the bone marrow in which the bone marrow is replaced by scar tissue and causes decreased blood cell production). It is also used to treat polycythemia vera (PV; a slow growing cancer of the blood in which the bone marrow makes too many red blood cells) in people who were not able to be treated successfully with hydroxyurea. Ruxolitinib is also used to treat acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD; a complication of hematopoietic stem-cell transplant [HSCT; a procedure that replaces diseased bone marrow with healthy bone marrow] that usually develops within the first months after HSCT) in adults and children 12 years of age and older who were treated unsuccessfully with steroid medications. It is also used to treat chronic GVHD (cGVHD; a complication of HSCT that usually develops at least 3 months after HSCT) in adults and children 12 years of age and older who were treated unsuccessfully with 1 or 2 other treatments. Ruxolitinib is in a class of medications called kinase inhibitors. It works to treat myelofibrosis and PV by blocking the signals that cause cancer cells to multiply. This helps to stop the spread of cancer cells. It works to treat GVHD by blocking the signals of the cells that cause GVHD.
🔔 How should this medicine be used?
Ruxolitinib comes as a tablet to take by mouth. It is usually taken with or without food two times a day. Take ruxolitinib at around the same times every day. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take ruxolitinib exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it, or take it more often than prescribed by your doctor.
If you are being treated for myelofibrosis or PV your doctor may start you on a low dose of ruxolitinib for the first four weeks of treatment, and gradually increase your dose after that time, not more than once every 2 weeks. If you are being treated for acute GVHD your doctor may start you on a low dose of ruxolitinib and may increase your dose after at least 3 days of therapy. If you are being treated for acute or chronic GVHD your doctor may gradually lower your dose of ruxolitinib after at least 6 months of therapy.
If you can not have food by mouth and have a nasogastric (NG) tube, your doctor may tell you to take ruxolitinib through the nasogastric (NG) tube. Your doctor or pharmacist will explain how to prepare ruxolitinib to give through an NG tube.
Your doctor will order blood tests before and during your treatment to see how you are affected by this medication. Your doctor may increase or decrease your dose of ruxolitinib during your treatment, or may tell you to stop taking ruxolitinib for awhile. This depends on how well the medication works for you, your lab test results, and if you experience side effects. Talk to your doctor about how you are feeling during your treatment. Continue to take ruxolitinib even if you feel well. Do not stop taking ruxolitinib without talking to your doctor. If your doctor decides to stop your treatment with ruxolitinib, your doctor may decrease your dose gradually.
Ask your pharmacist or doctor for a copy of the manufacturer’s information for the patient.
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