Only veins should be used to give doxorubicin. It could, however, leak into nearby tissue and cause serious harm or irritation. Your administration site will be observed by your doctor or nurse for this reaction. Call your doctor right away if you suffer any of the following signs and symptoms in the area where the drug was injected: pain, itching, redness, swelling, blisters, or sores.

Any time during your treatment or months to years after it has ended, the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin may result in serious or life-threatening heart issues. Before and during your treatment, your doctor will request tests to see whether your heart is functioning properly enough for you to safely receive doxorubicin. These procedures could involve an echocardiogram (a test that utilises sound waves to gauge your heart’s blood-pump efficiency) and an electrocardiogram (ECG), which measures the electrical activity of the heart. If you have an irregular heartbeat or tests reveal that your heart’s capacity to pump blood has diminished, your doctor could advise against using this drug. Any form of cardiac illness, a heart attack, or radiation (x-ray) therapy to the chest should be disclosed to your doctor. Inform your doctor and pharmacist if you are currently taking or have ever taken any of the following cancer chemotherapy drugs: paclitaxel (Abraxane, Onxol), cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan), daunorubicin (Cerubidine, DaunoXome), epirubicin (Ellence), idarubicin (Idamycin), mitoxantrone (Novantrone), trastuzumab (Her (Calan, Isoptin). Call your doctor right away if you have any of the following symptoms: breathing difficulties, hand, foot, ankle, or lower leg edoema, or a rapid, erratic, or pounding heartbeat.

The amount of blood cells in your bone marrow may drastically decline as a result of doxorubicin treatment. Before to and throughout your treatment, your doctor will frequently order laboratory testing. A reduction in blood cell count in your body may result in certain symptoms and raise your risk of bleeding or serious infection. Inform your physician and pharmacist if you are currently taking or have recently taken progesterone, methotrexate (Rheumatrex), azathioprine (Imuran), or cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune) (Provera, Depo-Provera). Call your doctor right away if you experience any of the following symptoms: fever, sore throat, persistent cough, congestion, or other infection-related symptoms; unusual bleeding or bruising; bloody or black, tarry stools; bloody vomit; or vomiting blood or brown material that resembles coffee grounds.

Your risk of developing leukaemia (cancer of the white blood cells) may increase if you take doxorubicin, particularly if you do so at high dosages or when you combine it with specific other chemotherapy drugs and radiation therapy.

If you have liver illness now or ever had it, let your doctor know. If you have liver illness, your doctor could advise against using this drug or adjust your dose.

Only a medical professional with experience using chemotherapy drugs should administer doxorubicin.

Doxorubicin is used in conjunction with other drugs to treat some forms of leukaemia, including acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukaemia, as well as certain types of bladder, breast, lung, stomach, and ovarian cancer, Hodgkin’s disease, non-lymphoma, Hodgkin’s and Hodgkin’s lymphoma (cancer that starts in immune system cells) (AML, ANLL). Other conditions that can be treated with doxorubicin include certain types of soft tissue or bone sarcomas, as well as thyroid cancer (cancer that forms in muscles and bones). Wilms’ tumour and neuroblastoma, a disease that starts in nerve cells and primarily affects children, are other conditions it is used to treat (a type of kidney cancer that occurs in children). Doxorubicin belongs to the anthracycline drug class. It functions by reducing or halting the development of cancer cells within your body.

Doxorubicin is available as a liquid solution or as a powder that must be mixed with liquid before being administered intravenously (into a vein) by a physician or nurse in a healthcare setting. Typically, it is administered once every 21 to 28 days. The sort of drugs you are taking, how well your body reacts to them, and the type of cancer you have will all affect how long your treatment will last.

For a copy of the manufacturer’s information for the patient, ask your pharmacist or doctor.

Doxorubicin is also occasionally used to treat cancers of the liver, pancreas, adrenocortical (cancer in the adrenal glands), uterine, endometrial, and cervix, as well as Kaposi’s sarcoma linked to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), prostate, pancreas, and pancreatic cancer; children’s Ewing’s sarcoma, mesothelioma, multiple myeloma, chronic lymphoblastic leukaemia, and bone marrow cancers are all examples of cancers that affect the bones (CLL; a type of cancer of the white blood cells). The dangers of using this drug for your illness should be discussed with your doctor.

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

Before receiving doxorubicin injection,

• If you have an allergy to doxorubicin, daunorubicin (Cerubidine, DaunoXome), epirubicin (Ellence), idarubicin (Idamycin), any other drugs, or any of the components in doxorubicin injection, let your doctor and pharmacist know right once. Get a list of the components from your pharmacist.
• Inform your doctor and pharmacist about any additional prescription and over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, dietary supplements, and herbal products you are now taking or intend to use. Mention the drugs in the IMPORTANT CAUTION section as well as any of the following: various chemotherapy drugs, including streptozocin (Zanosar), mercaptopurine (Purinethol), dexrazoxane (Zinecard), and cytarabine (DepoCyt); phenytoin, phenobarbital (Luminal Sodium), etc (Dilantin). Your doctor might need to adjust your medication doses or keep a close eye out for any negative side effects. Doxorubicin may interact with additional medications, so be sure to let your doctor know about all the drugs you are taking, even those not on this list.
• If you have or have ever had any additional medical conditions, let your doctor know.
• Doxorubicin may interfere with a woman’s regular menstrual cycle (period) and may prevent sperm from being produced in males. You shouldn’t, however, presumptuously believe that you or another person cannot become pregnant. Before starting this medication, women should disclose to their doctors whether they are pregnant or nursing. While having doxorubicin injection, you shouldn’t get pregnant or breastfeed. Call your doctor if you conceive while taking doxorubicin. To prevent conception, use a proven birth control method. The foetus could suffer from doxorubicin.
• Without first seeing your doctor, avoid getting any immunisations.

Keep eating normally unless your doctor instructs you otherwise.

There may be negative effects from doxorubicin. If any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away, let your doctor know right once:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Mouth- and throat-related sores
• Reduced appetite (and weight loss)
• Gaining weight
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhoea
• Heightened thirst
• Unexpected fatigue or weakened state
• Dizziness
• Hair fall
• Nail or toenail detachment from the nail bed
• Inflamed, watery, itchy, or red eyes
• Eye discomfort
• Hands or feet tingling, burning, or pain
• Urine colour change to red (for 1 to 2 days after dose)

Some adverse effects may be severe. Call your doctor right away if you have any of the following symptoms or any of the ones detailed in the IMPORTANT CAUTION section:

• Hives
• Body rash
• Itching
• Breathing or swallowing challenges
• Seizures

Further negative effects of doxorubicin are possible. If you experience any strange issues while taking this medicine, contact 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).

Call the poison control hotline at 1-800-222-1222 in the event of an overdose. Moreover, information can be found online at https://www.poisonhelp.org/help. Call 911 right once if the person has collapsed, experienced a seizure, is having difficulty breathing, or cannot be roused.

Overdose signs could include the following:

• Mouth- and throat-related sores
• Fever, chills, a sore throat, or other symptoms of infection
• Uncommon bruising or bleeding
• Stool that is dark and tarry
• Bench with a reddish tint
• Tainted vomit
• Vomited substance that resembles coffee grounds

Keep all of your appointments with your physician and the lab. To determine how your body is responding to doxorubicin, your doctor will prescribe a number of 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.