What are venetoclax side effects?

Venetoclax is a targeted anti-cancer drug used to treat certain types of blood cancers, such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Venetoclax works by inhibiting the BCL-2 protein, inducing apoptosis in cancer cells.

What are venetoclax side effects?

According to the drug insert, the most common adverse reactions in the patient population (reported in ≥20% of patients) are as follows:

1. Nausea and vomiting

These two symptoms are particularly common in AML treatment and severely affect the patient's eating and nutritional status. Your doctor will recommend a variety of measures to reduce symptoms, including anti-nausea medications, diet adjustments, and the timing of medications.

2. Thrombocytopenia and neutropenia

Similar to CLL/SLL, these two hematologic toxicities increase the risk of bleeding and infection in the treatment of AML and require close monitoring for appropriate prevention and treatment.

What are the results of venetoclax?

According to the clinical trial data of venetoclax given on the drug label, venetoclax combined with obinutuzumab was used to evaluate the minimal residual disease (MRD) using specific oligonucleotide polymerase chain reaction (ASO-PCR). MRD negative is defined as less than one CLL cell per 10,000 leukocytes.

Three months after the end of treatment, 122 (91 percent) of the 134 MRD-negative peripheral blood patients in the VEN G group were MRD-negative in both peripheral blood and bone marrow. Twelve months after the end of treatment, the negative peripheral blood MRD rate was 58 percent (126/216) in the VEN G group compared with 9 percent (20/216) in the GClb group.

Precautions for use of venetoclax?

Venetoclax plays an important role in the treatment of a variety of diseases, and the precautions during the use of the drug should also be paid attention to.

1. Immunization

Patients should avoid live attenuated vaccines before, during, or after venetoclax treatment until B cells have recovered. The safety and efficacy of live attenuated vaccines given during or after venetoclax treatment have not been well studied, and vaccination may reduce the effectiveness of vaccination in patients.

2. Embryo-fetal toxicity

Depending on the results of animal studies and the drug's mechanism of action, venetoclax may cause harm to the embryo or fetus of a pregnant woman. An embryo-fetal study in mice showed that when pregnant mice received venetoclax at a dose equivalent to 400 mg per day of the patient, it resulted in postimplantation miscarriage and fetal weight loss.

[Warm tips] The medicine should be stored in a dark, sealed and dry environment to ensure that the medicine remains stable during the expiration date.