Uvadex - Methoxsalen injection, Solution Prescribing Information
UVADEX® (methoxsalen) Sterile Solution should be used only by physicians who have special competence in the diagnosis and treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and who have special training and experience in the THERAKOS® CELLEX® Photopheresis System. Please consult the CELLEX® Operator's Manual before using this product.
UVADEX® (methoxsalen) Sterile Solution is indicated for extracorporeal administration with the THERAKOS® CELLEX® Photopheresis System in the palliative treatment of the skin manifestations of Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma (CTCL) that is unresponsive to other forms of treatment.
Each UVADEX® treatment involves collection of leukocytes, photoactivation, and reinfusion of photoactivated cells. UVADEX® (methoxsalen) Sterile Solution is supplied in 10 mL vials containing 200 mcg of methoxsalen (concentration of 20 mcg/mL). The THERAKOS® CELLEX® Photopheresis System Operator's Manual should be consulted before using this product. UVADEX® should not be diluted. The contents of the vial should be injected into the THERAKOS® CELLEX® Photopheresis System immediately after being drawn up into a syringe. Do not inject directly into patients. The UVADEX® vial is for single use only. Any UVADEX® that is not used during a procedure should be immediately discarded. UVADEX® can adsorb onto PVC and plastics, therefore only THERAKOS® CELLEX® photopheresis procedural kits supplied for use with the instrument should be used to administer this medicinal product. Once UVADEX® is drawn into a plastic syringe it should be immediately injected into the photoactivation bag. UVADEX® exposed to a plastic syringe for more than one hour should be discarded.
During treatment with the THERAKOS® CELLEX® Photopheresis System, the dosage of UVADEX® for each treatment will be calculated according to the treatment volume.
- The prescribed amount of UVADEX® should be injected into the recirculation bag prior to the Photoactivation Phase using the formula:
| TREATMENT VOLUME × 0.017 = mL of UVADEX® for each treatment | |
| Example: Treatment volume of 240 mL × 0.017 = 4.1 mL of UVADEX® |
- UVADEX® (methoxsalen) Sterile Solution is contraindicated in patients exhibiting idiosyncratic or hypersensitivity reactions to methoxsalen, other psoralen compounds or any of the excipients. Patients possessing a specific history of a light sensitive disease state should not initiate methoxsalen therapy. Diseases associated with photosensitivity include lupus erythematosus, porphyria cutanea tarda, erythropoietic protoporphyria, variegate porphyria, xeroderma pigmentosum and albinism.
- UVADEX® Sterile Solution is contraindicated in patients with aphakia, because of the significantly increased risk of retinal damage due to the absence of lenses.
- Patients should not receive UVADEX® if they have any contraindications to the photopheresis procedure.
Side effects of photopheresis (UVADEX® used with THERAKOS® Photopheresis Systems) were primarily related to hypotension secondary to changes in extracorporeal volume (>1%). In study CTCL 3 (UVADEX®), six serious cardiovascular adverse experiences were reported in five patients (5/51, 10%). Five of these six events were not related to photopheresis and did not interfere with the scheduled photopheresis treatments. One patient (1/51, 2%) with ischemic heart disease had an arrhythmia after the first day of photopheresis that was resolved the next day. Six infections were also reported in five patients. Two of the six events were Hickman catheter infections in one patient, which did not interrupt the scheduled photopheresis. The other four infections were not related to photopheresis and did not interfere with scheduled treatments.
See
Patients who are receiving concomitant therapy (either topically or systemically) with known photosensitizing agents such as anthralin, coal tar or coal tar derivatives, griseofulvin, phenothiazines, nalidixic acid, halogenated salicylanilides (bacteriostatic soaps), sulfonamides, tetracyclines, thiazides, and certain organic staining dyes such as methylene blue, toluidine blue, rose bengal and methyl orange may be at greater risk for photosensitivity reactions with UVADEX®.
Oral administration of methoxsalen followed by cutaneous UVA exposure (PUVA therapy) is carcinogenic. In a prospective study of 1380 patients given PUVA therapy for psoriasis, 237 patients developed 1422 cutaneous squamous cell cancers. This observed incidence of cutaneous carcinoma is 17.6 times that expected for the general population. Previous cutaneous exposure to tar and UVB treatment, ionizing radiation or arsenic increased the risk of developing skin carcinomas after PUVA therapy. Because the dose of methoxsalen with UVADEX®therapy is about 200 times less than with PUVA and the skin is not exposed to high cumulative doses of UVA light, the risk of developing skin cancer following UVADEX®therapy may be lower.
Methoxsalen was carcinogenic in male rats that were given the drug by oral gavage five days per week for 103 weeks at doses of 37.5 and 75 mg/kg. The 37.5 mg/kg dose is about 1900 times greater than a single human methoxsalen dose during extracorporeal photopheresis treatment on a body surface area basis. The neoplastic lesions in rats included adenomas and adenocarcinomas of the tubular epithelium of the kidneys, carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma of the Zymbal gland and alveolar or bronchiolar adenomas. Topical or intraperitoneal methoxsalen is a potent photo-carcinogen in albino mice and hairless mice.
With S9 activation, methoxsalen is mutagenic in the Ames test. In the absence of S9 activation and UV light, methoxsalen is clastogenic in vitro (sister chromatid exchange and chromosome aberrations in Chinese hamster ovary cells). Methoxsalen also causes DNA damage, interstrand cross-links and errors in DNA repair.
Methoxsalen may cause fetal harm when given to a pregnant woman. Doses of 80 to 160 mg/kg/day given during organogenesis caused significant fetal toxicity in rats. The lowest of these doses, 80 mg/kg/day, is over 4000 times greater than a single dose of UVADEX®on a mg/m2basis. Fetal toxicity was associated with significant maternal weight loss, anorexia and increased relative liver weight. Signs of fetal toxicity included increased fetal mortality, increased resorptions, late fetal death, fewer fetuses per litter, and decreased fetal weight. Methoxsalen caused an increase in skeletal malformation and variations at doses of 80 mg/kg/day and above. There are no adequate and well-controlled studies of methoxsalen in pregnant women. If UVADEX®is used during pregnancy, or if the patient becomes pregnant while receiving UVADEX®, the patient should be apprised of the potential hazard to the fetus. Women of childbearing potential should be advised to avoid becoming pregnant.
Severe photosensitivity can occur in patients treated with UVADEX®. Advise patients to wear UVA absorbing, wrap-around sunglasses and cover exposed skin or use a sunblock (SP 15 or higher), and avoid all exposure to sunlight for twenty-four (24) hours following photopheresis treatment. See