Chlorambucil(Leukeran®)

Pronounced: [klor-AM-byoo-sil]

About Your Medication

  • Chlorambucil is an oral medicine that your doctor prescribed for the treatment of your cancer.Please take your chlorambucil as directed by your prescriber.

How to Take Your Medication

  • Take your chlorambucil at approximately the same time each day
  • Take chlorambucil on an empty stomach
  • 1 hour before or 2 hours after a meal
  • Take an anti-nausea pill an hour before taking the medicine if chlorambucil makes you sick to your stomach
  • If a dose is missed, take your next dose at the usual scheduled time. Do not make up doses during the day.
  • Do not take two doses on the same day to make up for a missed dose.

Tell Your Healthcare Provider if you have any trouble taking your chlorambucil, including:

  • Trouble swallowing pills
  • Forgetting to take doses
  • Trouble affording your medications
  • Throwing up pills
  • Side effects

Important Precautions

  • Chlorambucil may be harmful to an unborn child. If sexually active with a partner that is pregnant or who may become pregnant during and for several weeks after treatment, two forms of contraception must be used (a condom and another effective form of birth control).
  • It is not known whether chlorambucil passes into breast milk. Nursing mothers should discuss with their healthcare providers whether to discontinue nursing or to discontinue chlorambucil.
  • Secondary cancers including leukemia may be associated with chronic use of chlorambucil.

What foods and drugs may interact with my chlorambucil?

Please talk to your healthcare provider at your cancer clinic before starting or stopping any medications, vitamins, or herbal supplements, because some of these may interact with your chlorambucil. Some examples of products that interact with chlorambucil include:

  • Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, and others
  • Blood thinners such as warfarin (Coumadin)

Storage, Handling, and Disposal

It is important to keep these safeguards in mind when storing and handling oral anticancer therapy to keep you and your caregivers safe.

  • Keep your chlorambucil in a safe place, away from other family members’ medications and away from any food or drinks.
  • Store chlorambucil in its original container in the refrigerator.
  • Keep the medication out of reach from children and pets.
  • Return expired, damaged, or unused chlorambucil to a pharmacy or hospital for disposal. Do not discard into the garbage or toilet, or anywhere that children or pets may have access.

Chlorambucil (Leukeran®) Side Effect Summary

This list does not include all possible side effects of chlorambucil. If you have an unusual symptom, call the clinic. Below are the most common side effects:

  • Low Blood Counts – Decreased platelets, white and red blood cells

What Can I Do? / When to Call the Clinic?
  • Wash hands or use alcohol-based sanitizers regularly
  • Avoid close contact with others who are sick
  • Avoid activities with high risk for injury and bleeding such as contact sports
  • Rest when tired; stand up slowly
  • The clinic will monitor your labs
/
  • Temperature of 100.5˚F or higher – contact the clinic IMMEDIATELY
  • Any signs of infection
  • Unusual tiredness or weakness
  • Shortness of breath, difficulty breathing
  • Unusual bleeding or bruising
  • Dizziness/lightheadedness

Below are some less common side effects of chlorambucil.

  • Rash

What Can I Do? / When to Call the Clinic?
  • Treat skin gently
  • Avoid direct sunlight (cover exposed areas of skin and use sunscreen)
  • Use antihistamines (anti-itch) medications as prescribed
  • Apply non-scented lotion to affected areas to avoid dryness
/
  • If rash becomes bothersome, if there are any open areas, or if you are unable to perform normal daily activities due to the rash
  • If rash is itchy despite use of antihistamine medications
  • If the skin is bleeding or looks red and/or infected
  • If multiple areas of the body are affected by the rash

  • Nausea and/or Vomiting

What are your symptoms? / What can you do…
Mild nausea – loss of appetite without alteration of eating habits
Mild vomiting - you experience 1-2 episodes in 24 hours /
  • Stay well-hydrated
  • Use anti-nausea medication prescribed by the clinic
  • Eat smaller, more frequent meals/snacks
  • Avoid empty stomach
  • Eat bland foods

Moderate nausea – decreased oral intake without significant weight loss, dehydration, or malnutrition
Moderate vomiting – you experience 3-5 episodes in 24 hours /
  • Try to manage using the measures listed above.
  • If nausea/vomiting is not improving within 24 hours, or you are having trouble staying hydrated, call the clinic

Severe nausea – you have inadequate oral intake of calories or fluids
Severe vomiting – you experience 6 or more episodes in 24 hours /
  • Unable to stay hydrated or hold down fluid (not able to drink 8-10 cups of liquid per day) – contact the clinic IMMEDIATELY
  • The anti-nausea medication prescribed is not working
  • Stop taking chlorambucil and call the clinic

Who to Call With Questions?

If you are having an emergency, call 911

Who to Call With Questions?

If you are having an emergency, call 911


Who to Call With Questions?

If you are having an emergency, call 911

Copyright 2017 Michigan Oncology Quality Consortium, All rights reserved. V.12-14 MOQC-7.31.2018

MOQC makes no representations or warranties and explicitly disclaims the appropriateness or applicability of the MOQC Content to any specific patient's care or treatment. Any clinician seeking to treat a patient using the MOQC Content is expected to use independent medical judgment in the context of individual clinical circumstances of a specific patient's care or treatment.