Pronunciation guide

Etoposide is used to treat a range of cancers, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, small cell lung cancer (SCLC), Kaposi's sarcoma, and testicular cancer. It is usually used in combination therapy and has rarely shown great benefit by itself.

Is it effective?

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) ^1,2

Oral etoposide, when used in combination with other drugs, has been shown to be just as effective as intravenous (i.v.) treatment in patients with NHL.

Kaposi's sarcoma ³

Oral etoposide, in combination or by itself, is safe and effective for the treatment of Kaposi's sarcoma.

Small cell lung cancer ⁴

A Medical Research Council (MRC) study compared oral etoposide with i.v. and showed it was of similar efficacy but had more patients requiring infusion. Although oral etoposide by itself is commonly used as palliative treatment for patients with small cell lung cancer, there have been no trials to compare this treatment with standard intravenous (i.v.) combination therapy.

Testicular cancer ⁵

Oral etoposide has shown activity in treating patients with testicular cancer whose disease has stopped responding to other forms of chemotherapy.

How is it taken?

• As a tablet twice a day over 5–14 days depending on the patient's condition ⁴

You should not take etoposide if: ⁶

• You are hypersensitive to any of the components of the tablets

How does it work? ⁷

• It works by blocking an enzyme which the cancer cells need to divide
• Blocking the enzyme causes the genetic material in the cell to get tangled
• This means that the cell is unable to form two new cells

What are the side effects associated with etoposide?

As with all types of chemotherapy, there are side effects associated with the use of etoposide. The most common side effects are: ⁸

• Increased susceptibility to infection, due to a reduction in the number of white blood cells, which can cause anaemia, risk of bruising and bleeding, and infection
• Hair loss
• Nausea and vomiting

Caution is required and often dose reduction is necessary for patients who have liver and kidney function impairment.

The information in this section is taken from published literature and the summary of product characteristics for this drug. Please contact your healthcare professional for full information on product availability in your country.

References

1. Morra E, Gargantini L, Nosari A B et al. Treatment of patients with high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma aged over 70 years with an all-oral regimen combining idarubicin, etoposide and alkylators. Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology 2000; 35: 95-100.
2. Remick SC, Sedransk N, Haase R et al. Oral combination chemotherapy in the management of AIDS-related lymphoproliferative malignancies. Drugs 1999; 58 Suppl 3: 99-107.
3. Evans SR, Krown SE, Testa MA et al. Phase II evaluation of low-dose oral etoposide for the treatment of relapsed or progressive AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma: an AIDS Clinical Trials Group clinical study. Clinical Oncology 2002; 20: 3236-341.
4. Medical Research Council Lung Cancer Working Party. Comparison of oral etoposide and standard intravenous multi-drug chemotherapy for small-cell lung cancer: a stopped multi-centre randomised trial. Lancet.
5. Saxman S. Oral etoposide in germ cell tumours. Drugs 1999; 58 Suppl 3: 31-34.
6. Etoposide Summary of Product Characteristics. http://emc.medicines.org.uk/emc/assets/c/html/ displayDocPrinterFriendly.asp?documentid=7051
7. CancerHelp UK: http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=4102
8. CancerBACUP: http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/info/etoposide.htm