Ifosfamide can cause a severe decrease in the number of blood cells in your bone marrow. This may cause certain symptoms and may increase the risk that you will develop a serious or life-threatening infection or bleeding. If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately: fever, chills, sore throat, ongoing cough and congestion, or other signs of infection; unusual bleeding or bruising; bloody or black, tarry stools; bloody vomit; or vomiting blood or brown material that resembles coffee grounds.
Ifosfamide may cause severe or life-threatening damage to the nervous system. If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately: confusion; drowsiness; blurred vision; seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist (hallucinating); or pain, burning, numbness, tingling in the hands or feet; seizures; or coma (loss of consciousness for a period of time).
Ifosfamide may cause severe or life-threatening kidney problems. Kidney problems may occur during therapy or months or years after you stop receiving treatment. Tell your doctor if you have or have ever had kidney disease. If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately: decreased urination; swelling of the face, arms, hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs; or unusual tiredness or weakness.
Other side effects
Ifosfamide may cause severe urinary side effects. Tell your doctor if you have problems urinating. Your doctor may tell you not to receive ifosfamide or wait to start treatment until you are able to urinate regularly. Also tell your doctor if you have a urinary tract infection or if you have or have ever had radiation (x-ray) therapy to the bladder. Tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are taking or have ever received busulfan (Busulfex). If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately: blood in the urine or frequent, urgent, or painful urination. Your doctor will give you another medication to help prevent severe urinary side effects during your treatment with ifosfamide. You should also drink plenty of fluids and urinate frequently during your treatment to help reduce urinary side effects.
Keep all appointments with your doctor and the laboratory. Your doctor will order laboratory tests regularly before and during your treatment to check your body’s response to ifsofamide and to treat side effects before they become severe.
The basics
Ifosfamide (brand name-Ifex) is an FDA-approved treatment for testicle cancer that has not improved or that has worsened after treatment.
Ifosfamide is in a class of medications called alkylating agents. It works by slowing or stopping the growth of cancer cells in your body.
Let us walk you through the key things you need to know about Ifosfamide.
How should I take ifosfamide (Ifex)?
Ifosfamide comes as a powder to be mixed with liquid which is injected into your vein over at least 30 minutes by a doctor or nurse in a medical facility. It may be injected once a day for 5 days in a row.
The length of treatment depends on how well your body responds to treatment with ifosfamide.
It is important for you to tell your doctor how you are feeling during your treatment with ifosfamide. You can help them by tracking your side effects in Ankr.
What are the side effects of ifosfamide or Ifex?
Common side effects
- Nausea
- Vomiting (Emesis)
- Appetite loss (Anorexia)
- Diarrhea (Loose stools)
- Sores in the mouth and throat
- Hair Loss (Alopecia)
- General feeling of pain and tiredness
- Yellowing of the skin or eyes
- Rash
- Itching
- Hoarseness
- Fever
- Other signs of infection
Serious side effects
- Swelling, redness, and pain in the place where the medication was injected
- Difficulty breathing or swallowing
- Shortness of breath
- Wheezing
- Irregular heartbeat
- Chest Pain
- black and tarry stools
- red blood in stools
- bloody vomit
- vomited material that looks like coffee grounds
Ifosfamide may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while taking this medication. If you experience a serious side effect, you or your doctor may send a report to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online or by phone (1-800-332-1088).
Use the free Ankr platform or Ankr app to track your symptoms.
What special precautions should I follow?
Before receiving ifosfamide or Ifex
- tell your doctor about your allergies
- tell your doctor about other intakes
- tell your doctor about any other disease, symptom, or treatment in the past or now
- you should know that ifosfamide may slow the healing of wounds.
while you are on ifosfamide or Ifex
- you should know that ifosfamide may interfere with the normal menstrual cycle (period) in women and may stop sperm production in men.
- Ifosfamide may cause permanent infertility (difficulty becoming pregnant); however, you should not assume that you cannot get pregnant or that you cannot get someone else pregnant. Talk to your doctor about the birth control method suitable for you.
- You should not become pregnant or breast-feed while you are receiving ifosfamide. Ifosfamide may harm the fetus.
In case of an emergency/overdose
In case of overdose, call the poison control helpline at 1-800-222-1222. Information is also available online at https://www.poisonhelp.org/help. If the victim has collapsed, had a seizure, has trouble breathing, or can’t be awakened, immediately call emergency services at 911.
Symptoms of overdose
- blurred vision
- seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist (hallucinating)
- unusual bleeding or bruising
- decreased urination
- swelling of the face, throat, tongue, lips, eyes, hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs
- sores in the mouth and throat
- seizures
- confusion
- coma (loss of consciousness for a period of time)
What special dietary instructions should I follow?
Do not eat large amounts of grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice while receiving this medication.
Brand names
- Ifex®
Other names
- Isophosphamide
Last Revised – 09/04/2023, FDA-updated- 09/05/2022, SG
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