Drug interactions
Cytarabine + Trastuzumab
Severity: Moderate
Cytarabine and Trastuzumab: moderate interaction.
Last updated
For healthcare professionals — reference only. This page is a brief summary, not medical advice and not a substitute for official labeling or clinical judgement. Always verify before prescribing or dispensing.
Summary
Trastuzumab has been associated with more neutropenia and febrile neutropenia when added to myelosuppressive chemotherapy. Cytarabine is profoundly myelosuppressive, so infection risk may increase.
What this interaction means in plain words
Cytarabine and Trastuzumab can affect each other. The combination is often manageable, but it may need a change of dose, a change of timing, or extra checks while both are taken.
Cytarabine belongs to Oncology; Trastuzumab belongs to Oncology.
Why it happens
Additive myelosuppression; the trastuzumab contribution is not fully characterized.
What to do
Monitor blood counts and evaluate fever promptly. Adjust cytarabine dosing or give growth factor support according to neutrophil counts.
What to ask your pharmacist
- Should I take them at different times of day?
- Does the dose of either medicine need to change?
- Is there anything I should avoid, such as alcohol or certain foods, while on both?
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Other interactions of Cytarabine
Other interactions of Trastuzumab
Frequently asked questions
Can I take Cytarabine with Trastuzumab?
MediHelp rates the interaction as moderate. Cytarabine and Trastuzumab can affect each other. The combination is often manageable, but it may need a change of dose, a change of timing, or extra checks while both are taken. Trastuzumab has been associated with more neutropenia and febrile neutropenia when added to myelosuppressive chemotherapy. Cytarabine is profoundly myelosuppressive, so infection risk may increase.
How serious is the interaction between Cytarabine and Trastuzumab?
MediHelp rates it moderate, on a four-level scale (minor, moderate, major, contraindicated) based on published labels and references. What to do, in brief: Monitor blood counts and evaluate fever promptly. Adjust cytarabine dosing or give growth factor support according to neutrophil counts.
What other medicines interact with Cytarabine?
MediHelp also lists interactions of Cytarabine with, for example, Adenovirus types 4 and 7 live, Axicabtagene ciloleucel, Belatacept. The full list is on the Cytarabine page.
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