Lonsurf (trifluridine and tipiracil) is a drug treatment option for 3rd line Metastatic Colon Cancer. This is pill therapy often used when the disease progresses after chemotherapy and other treatments. There are notable side effects such as low white blood cell count. It can also cause nasuea, vomiting, diarrhea, decreased appetite, and abdominal pain.
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Transcript:
One option in metastatical rectal cancer in the third line setting is a drug called Lonsurf, or trifluridine tipiracil. This is a pill therapy for patients who've already had disease grow on chemotherapy and some other drugs approved for colon rectal cancer. While it is a pill therapy, there are notable side effects that need to be followed your physician. The biggest one that we worry about as oncologists is low white blood cell counts. Low white blood cell counts can leave you more vulnerable to infection, similarly to what you may have experienced during chemotherapy. So your physician will want to watch closely your white blood cell count throughout the course of treatment. In addition, the pill dosages may need to be lowered if low white blood cell counts develop.
Aside from low white blood cell counts, trifluridine tipiracil, or Lonsurf, can also cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and decreased appetite. It can also lower other blood counts, including the red blood cell count and the platelet count. Those will also be monitored by your oncologist.
