Gemcitabine

Gemcitabine, sold under the brand name Gemzar, among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. These cancers include breast cancer, ovarian cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and bladder cancer. It is given by slow injection into a vein. Gemcitabine, sold under the brand name Gemzar, among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. These cancers include breast cancer, ovarian cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and bladder cancer. It is given by slow injection into a vein. Common side effects include bone marrow suppression, liver and kidney problems, nausea, fever, rash, shortness of breath, mouth sores, diarrhea, neuropathy, and hair loss. Use during pregnancy will likely result in harm to the baby. Gemcitabine is in the nucleoside analog family of medication. It works by blocking the creation of new DNA, which results in cell death. Gemcitabine was patented in 1983 and was approved for medical use in 1995. Generic versions were introduced in Europe in 2009 and in the US in 2010. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most effective and safe medicines needed in a health system. The wholesale cost in the developing world is about US$24.41 to $316.99 per gram vial. In the United Kingdom a 1 g vial costs the NHS approximately £155. Gemcitabine is used in various carcinomas. It is used as a first-line treatment alone for pancreatic cancer, and in combination with cisplatin for advanced or metastatic bladder cancer and advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. It is used as a second-line treatment in combination with carboplatin for ovarian cancer and in combination with paclitaxel for breast cancer that is metastatic or cannot be surgically removed. It is commonly used off-label to treat cholangiocarcinoma and other biliary tract cancers. It is given by injection into a vein at a chemotherapy clinic. Taking gemcitabine can also affect fertility in men and women, sex life, and menstruation. Women taking gemcitabine should not become pregnant, and pregnant and breastfeeding women should not take it. As of 2014 drug interactions had not been studied. Gemcitabine is a chemotherapy drug that works by killing any cells that are dividing. Cancer cells divide rapidly and so are targeted at higher rates by gemcitabine, but many essential cells divide rapidly as well, including cells in skin, the scalp, the lining of the stomach, and bone marrow, resulting in adverse effects.:265