What Is Irinotecan?
Irinotecan (Camptosar®) (pronounced eye-rin-oh-tee-kan) is an anti-cancer chemotherapy drug. It is often used along with other chemotherapy agents to treat people who have metastatic colorectal cancer, or cancer that has spread to other parts of the body.
When cells in our body divide in two, the DNA breaks and then is fixed. Irinotecan works by preventing the DNA from being fixed, which kills the cell. Since cancer cells grow and divide faster than normal cells, cancer cells are more likely to be killed by irinotecan than healthy cells.
Irinotecan is sometimes used together with another chemotherapy drug called 5-FU (5-fluorouracil). Genetic changes can also affect how you react to 5-FU. (Read more: 5-FU.)
Irinotecan is approved to treat:
- Metastatic colorectal cancer – cancer that has spread to other parts of the body
- Recurrent metastatic colorectal cancer – cancer that has come back
Some doctors also use irinotecan to treat other types of cancer, such as lung cancer and ovarian cancer.
Irinotecan can cause side effects. Common side effects include:
- Diarrhea
- Neutropenia: low levels of white blood cells that can lead to life-threatening infections
- Nausea or vomiting
- Abdominal pain, not feeling hungry
- Hair loss
- Feeling weak