Patient Information Leaflet

Alkeran® tablets 2 mg

melphalan

Please read this leaflet carefully before you start to take your medicine. Keep it safe as you may want to read it again.

This leaflet contains important information about your Alkeran tablets. If you want to know more about your illness or your medicine, ask your pharmacist or doctor.

What is in Alkeran tablets?

Alkeran tablets contain 2 mg of the active ingredient melphalan. The tablets are white to off-white, round, biconvex film-coated tablets engraved with ‘GX EH3’ on one side and ‘A’ on the other.

There are also some other ingredients in Alkeran tablets. These are microcrystalline cellulose, crospovidone, colloidal anhydrous silica, magnesium stearate, hypromellose, titanium dioxide and macrogol.

Alkeran tablets come in bottles of 25 tablets.

What is Alkeran for?

Alkeran belongs to a group of medicines called cytotoxics. It is used to treat certain types of cancer.

Who can take Alkeran tablets?

This medicine suits most people but there are a few people who should not take it. Ask yourself these questions to check whether Alkeran is right for you:

• have you previously experienced an allergic or bad reaction (itchy rash, shortness of breath, swelling of the eyelids, lips, nose and throat) to melphalan or any of the other ingredients in Alkeran tablets listed above?
• are you pregnant or breast-feeding? You should not breast-feed whilst taking Alkeran
• are you planning to have a baby? This question applies to both men and women. Contraceptive precautions must be taken to avoid pregnancy whilst you or your partner are taking Alkeran
• are you taking or likely to be taking nalidixic acid (an antibiotic used to treat urinary tract infections), or ciclosporin (a medicine used for a variety of conditions such as to prevent rejection of organs or tissue following a transplant, to treat certain skin conditions known as psoriasis and eczema, and to treat rheumatoid arthritis) whilst you are taking Alkeran?
• are you currently receiving, or have you recently had radiotherapy or chemotherapy?
• do you suffer from kidney disease?
• are you due to be immunised with live vaccines (examples would include oral polio vaccine, measles, mumps, rubella vaccine)?

If you answer "yes" to any of these questions and have not yet discussed the matter with your doctor, it is important to do so before taking this medicine.

 

How do you take Alkeran tablets?

• It is important to take your medicine at the right times. You must take it in the way your doctor has told you to. The label on your pack will tell you how many tablets to take and how often to take them. If the label doesn't say or if you are not sure, ask your doctor or pharmacist
• The dosage is very variable and it may be changed from time to time by your doctor. If you are unsure or the dosage on the label has changed for no apparent reason, ask your doctor
• The usual dose may be anything from 2 to 14 mg, depending on the condition being treated, your weight and response to treatment. Your doctor will tell you how long to take your tablets and whether the dose is to be taken daily or otherwise (e.g. weekly)
• Swallow your tablets, before food, with a little water. Do not break or crush the tablets
• If you forget to take a dose, tell your doctor. Do not double your next dose
• From time to time while you are taking Alkeran, your doctor will want you to have a blood test. This is to check your blood cell count and to change your dose if necessary
• If you take too much Alkeran or if someone else takes your medicine by mistake, tell your doctor immediately
• Alkeran is very rarely prescribed for children.

Do Alkeran tablets have side effects?

This medicine may cause side effects in some people.

Your doctor will do regular blood tests to check your blood cell levels. However, tell your doctor immediately if you notice any signs of fever or infection, or any unexpected bruising or bleeding, as this could mean that too few blood cells of a particular type are being produced.

If you have any blood tests to check how your liver or kidney is working, this medicine may affect the results.

Treatment with Alkeran over a long period of time can cause a sudden onset of leukaemia (a type of blood disorder). Your doctor will have balanced this risk with the potential benefit of using Alkeran before prescribing this medication for you. As with other medicines, some people find they have an allergy to Alkeran. Tell your doctor immediately if any of the following rare but severe allergy symptoms occur:

• sudden wheeziness and tightness of chest
• swelling of eyelids, face or lips
• skin lumps or hives
• skin rash (red spots), itchiness, fever
• collapse.

Contact your doctor if any of the following side effects occur:

• in women, periods may stop
• feeling sick, vomiting or diarrhoea
• sore inflamed mouth
• if you notice that you are gradually becoming more breathless than usual or if you develop a persistent cough
• oedema (swelling due to fluid collection under the skin)
• jaundice (yellowing of the whites of the eyes or the skin) as these symptoms may be due to hepatitis (inflammation of the liver)
• looking pale, feeling weaker, dizzy or more tired than usual
• hair loss.

Tell your pharmacist or doctor if you notice any other side effects from your medicine that are not mentioned here.

Look after your Alkeran tablets

• Store your Alkeran tablets between 2 to 8°C in a refrigerator. Keep your tablets where children cannot see or reach them
• Do not take any tablets after the "Exp" date shown on the pack
• If your doctor tells you to stop taking the tablets, please return any which are left over to your pharmacist for safe disposal. Only keep them if your doctor tells you to.

Remember: This medicine is for you. Only a doctor can prescribe it. Never give it to anyone else. It may harm them even if their symptoms are the same as yours.

The information in this leaflet applies only to Alkeran tablets 2 mg