Nurses’ Guide to TORISEL
Here’s where you’ll find extensive information about administering TORISEL, managing side effects, and educating patients about TORISEL and advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) treatment.
- TORISEL Dosing and Administration Guidelines
The recommended dosage and administration for TORISEL is a weekly 30- to 60-minute 25 mg infusion.1 Get the details in the TORISEL Dosing and Administration Guidelines. - Managing Select TORISEL Adverse Events
Read about the management of some TORISEL side effects. - Warnings and Precautions
Get detailed safety information about TORISEL. - Monitoring Laboratory Tests
Read about monitoring laboratory tests with TORISEL. - Drug Interactions
Find out about drug interactions with TORISEL. - TORISEL Interactive Review for Nurses
Participate in an interactive review about the role of TORISEL in the treatment of advanced RCC.
Patient Education Material
Give your patients and their caregivers information about renal cell carcinoma and TORISEL.
Important Safety Information
Important Safety Information
- TORISEL is contraindicated in patients with bilirubin >1.5 x ULN and should be used with caution when treating patients with mild hepatic impairment (bilirubin >1 – 1.5 x ULN or AST > ULN but bilirubin ≤ ULN). If TORISEL must be given to patients with mild hepatic impairment, reduce the dose of TORISEL to 15 mg/week. In a phase 1 study, the overall frequency of ≥ grade 3 adverse reactions and deaths, including deaths due to progressive disease, was greater in patients with baseline bilirubin > 1.5 x ULN.
- Hypersensitivity reactions manifested by symptoms, including, but not limited to anaphylaxis, dyspnea, flushing, and chest pain have been observed with TORISEL.
- Serum glucose, serum cholesterol, and triglycerides should be tested before and during treatment with TORISEL.
- The use of TORISEL is likely to result in hyperglycemia and hyperlipemia. This may result in the need for an increase in the dose of, or initiation of, insulin and/or oral hypoglycemic agent therapy and/or lipid-lowering agents, respectively.
- The use of TORISEL may result in immunosuppression. Patients should be carefully observed for the occurrence of infections, including opportunistic infections.
- Cases of interstitial lung disease, some resulting in death, have occurred. Some patients were asymptomatic and others presented with symptoms. Some patients required discontinuation of TORISEL and/or treatment with corticosteroids and/or antibiotics.
- Cases of fatal bowel perforation occurred with TORISEL. These patients presented with fever, abdominal pain, metabolic acidosis, bloody stools, diarrhea, and/or acute abdomen.
- Cases of rapidly progressive and sometimes fatal acute renal failure not clearly related to disease progression occurred in patients who received TORISEL.
- Due to abnormal wound healing, use TORISEL with caution in the perioperative period.
- Patients with central nervous system tumors (primary CNS tumor or metastases) and/or receiving anticoagulation therapy may be at an increased risk of developing intracerebral bleeding (including fatal outcomes) while receiving TORISEL.
- Live vaccinations and close contact with those who received live vaccines should be avoided.
- Patients and their partners should be advised to avoid pregnancy throughout treatment and for 3 months after TORISEL therapy has stopped.
- The most common (incidence ≥30%) adverse reactions observed with TORISEL are: rash (47%), asthenia (51%), mucositis (41%), nausea (37%), edema (35%), and anorexia (32%). The most common laboratory abnormalities (incidence ≥30%) are anemia (94%), hyperglycemia (89%), hyperlipemia (87%), hypertriglyceridemia (83%), elevated alkaline phosphatase (68%), elevated serum creatinine (57%), lymphopenia (53%), hypophosphatemia (49%), thrombocytopenia (40%), elevated AST (38%), and leukopenia (32%).
- Most common grades 3/4 adverse events and laboratory abnormalities included asthenia (11%), dyspnea (9%), hemoglobin decreased (20%), lymphocytes decreased (16%), glucose increased (16%), phosphorus decreased (18%), and triglycerides increased (44%).
- Strong inducers of CYP3A4/5 (eg, dexamethasone, rifampin) and strong inhibitors of CYP3A4 (eg, ketoconazole, atazanavir) may decrease and increase concentrations of the major metabolite of TORISEL, respectively. If alternatives cannot be used, dose modifications of TORISEL are recommended.
- St. John’s Wort may decrease TORISEL plasma concentrations, and grapefruit juice may increase plasma concentrations of the major metabolite of TORISEL, and therefore both should be avoided.
- The combination of TORISEL and sunitinib resulted in dose-limiting toxicity (Grade 3/4 erythematous maculopapular rash, and gout/cellulitis requiring hospitalization).
Please see the full Prescribing Information for TORISEL.
Reference:
- TORISEL® Kit (temsirolimus) Prescribing Information, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Inc.
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