Drug interactions
Lenalidomide + Tocilizumab
Severity: Moderate
Lenalidomide and Tocilizumab: 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
Both drugs can increase infection risk through immune modulation, and lenalidomide can also cause neutropenia. The interaction is largely theoretical, but patients receiving both may be more susceptible to serious infections.
What this interaction means in plain words
Lenalidomide and Tocilizumab 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.
Lenalidomide belongs to Oncology; Tocilizumab belongs to Musculoskeletal.
Why it happens
Additive immunosuppression, with lenalidomide-related myelosuppression and IL-6 blockade by tocilizumab.
What to do
Monitor neutrophil counts and signs of infection regularly. Hold tocilizumab or lenalidomide during serious infection or significant neutropenia.
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 Tocilizumab
- Bcg vaccine live + Tocilizumab Contraindicated
- Measles mumps and rubella vaccine live + Tocilizumab Contraindicated
- Measles mumps rubella and varicella vaccine live + Tocilizumab Contraindicated
- Measles vaccine + Tocilizumab Contraindicated
- Rubella vaccine + Tocilizumab Contraindicated
- Smallpox vaccine live + Tocilizumab Contraindicated
Other interactions of Lenalidomide
- Deferiprone + Lenalidomide Major
- Lenalidomide + Ropeginterferon alfa 2b Major
- Acalabrutinib + Lenalidomide Moderate
- Anakinra + Lenalidomide Moderate
- Cholera vaccine + Lenalidomide Moderate
- Denosumab + Lenalidomide Moderate
Frequently asked questions
Can I take Lenalidomide with Tocilizumab?
MediHelp rates the interaction as moderate. Lenalidomide and Tocilizumab 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. Both drugs can increase infection risk through immune modulation, and lenalidomide can also cause neutropenia. The interaction is largely theoretical, but patients receiving both may be more susceptible to serious infections.
How serious is the interaction between Lenalidomide and Tocilizumab?
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 neutrophil counts and signs of infection regularly. Hold tocilizumab or lenalidomide during serious infection or significant neutropenia.
What other medicines interact with Tocilizumab?
MediHelp also lists interactions of Tocilizumab with, for example, Bcg vaccine live, Measles mumps and rubella vaccine live, Measles mumps rubella and varicella vaccine live. The full list is on the Tocilizumab page.
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