Acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL), a kind of cancer of the white blood cells, is treated in infants, children, and young people between the ages of 1 month and 21 with the chemotherapeutic drug calaspargase pegol-mknl in combination with other medications. An enzyme called calaspargase pegol-mknl prevents the natural compounds required for the development of cancer cells. It stops the growth of cancer cells or kills them.

Calaspargase pegol-mknl is administered intravenously (into a vein) over the course of an hour by a doctor or nurse at a clinic or hospital. As long as your doctor supports treatment, it is typically administered once every three weeks.

If you have specific side effects, your doctor may decide to reduce the rate of your infusion, postpone it, discontinue it, or treat you with another medicine. During the course of your calaspargase pegol-mknl treatment, be sure to let your doctor know how you are feeling.

The most likely times for serious or fatal allergic responses to occur with calaspargase pegol-mknl are during or immediately after the infusion. In order to determine whether you are having a serious reaction to the medication, a doctor or nurse will keep an eye on you throughout the infusion and for an additional hour after it is ended. If you develop any of the following symptoms, let your doctor or nurse know right away: face, throat, tongue, lips, or eye swelling; flushing; hives; itching; rash; or trouble breathing or swallowing.

Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more details if you believe this drug should be used for something else.

Before receiving calaspargase pegol-mknl injection,

• If you have any allergies, including to pegaspargase (Oncaspar), calaspargase pegol-mknl, other medicines, or any of the ingredients in calaspargase pegol-mknl injection, notify your doctor right away. Get a list of the components from your pharmacist.
• Inform your doctor and pharmacist about all prescription and over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, dietary supplements, and herbal products that you are now taking or intend to use. Your physician might need to adjust the dosage of your drugs or keep a close eye on you for side effects.
• Inform your doctor if you now have or have ever experienced pancreatitis (pancreatic enlargement), blood clots, or significant bleeding, especially if these occurred during a previous course of asparaginase (Elspar), asparaginase erwinia chrysanthemi (Erwinaze), or pegaspargase (Oncaspar). Let your doctor know if you have liver illness as well. You might not be prescribed calaspargase pegol-mknl by your doctor.
• If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant, let your doctor know. Before beginning treatment, you must perform a pregnancy test. While receiving treatment with calaspargase pegol-mknl injection, you shouldn’t get pregnant. Throughout your calaspargase pegol-mknl injection treatment and for three months following your last dose, you should utilise an effective method of birth control to avoid getting pregnant. Certain oral contraceptives may become less effective when taken with calaspargase pegol-mknl (birth control pills). Using this drug concurrently with another method of birth control is required. See your doctor about different birth control options that are suitable for you. Call your doctor right away if you get pregnant while having calaspargase pegol-mknl injection. The foetus can suffer from calaspargase pegol-mknl.
• Inform your doctor if you are nursing a baby. For three months following your final dosage of calaspargase pegol-mknl injection, you shouldn’t breastfeed.

Keep eating normally unless your doctor instructs you otherwise.

The injection of calspargase pegol-mknl may have unwanted effects. If any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away, let your doctor know right once:

• Diarrhea

Some adverse effects may be severe. Call your doctor right away if any of these symptoms occur:

• Uncommonly heavy or severe bruising or bleeding
• Chronic stomach ache that occasionally radiates to the back
• Increased urination or frequent urination
• Intense stomach discomfort, pale skin or eyes, nausea, and vomiting
• Fatigue, pale stools, and black urine
• Strong headache, an arm or leg that is bloated, red, and painful, chest pain, and shortness of breath
• Rapid or irregular pulse
• Fever, chills, cough, or other infection-related symptoms
• Extreme exhaustion, shortness of breath, swelling in the legs, ankles, and feet, and an irregular or rapid heartbeat

Further adverse effects of calaspargase pegol-mknl are possible. If you have any strange side effects while taking this medicine, call your doctor right away.

You or your doctor can submit a report to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting programme online or by phone if you have a serious side event (1-800-332-1088).

Keep all of your appointments with your physician and the lab. To determine how your body is responding to the calaspargase pegol-mknl injection, your doctor will request a few lab tests.

You should keep a written record of every medication you take, including any over-the-counter (OTC) items, prescription drugs, and dietary supplements like vitamins and minerals. This list should be brought with you whenever you see a doctor or are admitted to the hospital. You should always have this information with you in case of emergencies.