Important WarningSeveral hours before each dose of ibritumomab injection, a medication called rituximab (Rituxan) is ... Full Alert
Ibritumomab injection is used with rituximab (Rituxan) to treat certain types of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (cancer that begins in the cells of the immune system) that has not improved or that has worsened after treatment with other medications. Ibritumomab injection is in a class of medications called monoclonal antibodies with radioisotopes. It works by attaching to cancer cells and releasing radiation to damage the cancer cells.
Ibritumomab injection comes as a liquid to be injected into a vein over 10 minutes by a doctor who has been trained to treat patients with radioactive medication. It is given as part of a specific cancer treatment regimen. On the first day of the treatment regimen, a dose of rituximab is given and the first dose of ibritumomab injection is given no more than 4 hours afterward. Imaging scans to see how ibritumomab injection has spread through the body are performed 48 to 72 hours after the dose of ibritumomab injection is given. Additional scans may be performed if needed during the next several days. If the results of the scan(s) show that ibritumomab injection has spread through the body as expected, a second dose of rituximab and a second dose of ibritumomab injection will be given 7 to 9 days after the first doses were given.
This medication may be prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.
- Zevalin®
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