Monograph

L01XX02 - Asparaginase

Not porphyrinogenic

Rationale

Enzyme. Side effects such as nausea and vomiting may be potentially porphyrinogenic through reduction in caloric intake.

Chemical description

Asparaginase is an enzyme derived from Escherichia coli, that converts L-aspargine to aspartic acid and ammonia.

Therapeutic characteristics

Asparaginase is an antineoplastic agent used for induction of remission in acute lymphattic leucemia. It is administered as an intravenous administration. Common adverse reactions of asparaginase that can be confused with an acute porphyric attack are nausea, vomiting, depression, confusion and irritability. Side effects such as nausea and vomiting may be potentially porphyrinogenic through reduction in caloric intake.

Hepatic exposure

Not relevant.

Published experience

Uneventful use reported in one 16-year old female patient with PV (Samuels, 1984).

References

#	Citation details	PMID
*	Scientific articles
1.	Chemotherapy in porphyria. S Afr Med J 1984; 65(23):924-6. Samuels B, Bezwoda WR, et al.	6587589
*	Drug reference publications
2.	McEvoy GK, editor. Asparaginase. The AHFS Drug Information 2008. Bethesda, MD: American Society of Health-System Pharmacists; 2009. Electronic version (07.06.10).
3.	Sweetman SC, editor. Martindale: The complete drug reference. Asparaginase. Pharmaceutical Press 2009.

Citation details

PMID

Scientific articles

Chemotherapy in porphyria. S Afr Med J 1984; 65(23):924-6.

Samuels B, Bezwoda WR, et al.

6587589

Drug reference publications

McEvoy GK, editor. Asparaginase. The AHFS Drug Information 2008. Bethesda, MD: American Society of Health-System Pharmacists; 2009. Electronic version (07.06.10).

Sweetman SC, editor. Martindale: The complete drug reference. Asparaginase. Pharmaceutical Press 2009.

Similar drugs

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Tradenames and packages

From some sources, we get a list of packages (United Kingdom, Ireland, Estonia). Other sources contain more or less "clean" versions of the trade name (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Norway). What you see here is the raw data we get from each country, so there will appear to be duplicates. The bold names are the searchable terms. The gray names that follow are all mapped to the bolded term.

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Netherlands

Enrylaze · Enrylaze 10 mg/0,5 ml oplossing voor injectie/infusie · Erwinase · Erwinase 10.000 E poeder voor oplossing voor injectie/infusie · Spectrila · Spectrila, 10 U poeder voor oplossing voor injectie of infusie

Belgium

Enrylaze · Enrylaze 10 mg/0.5 ml sol. inj./perf. i.v./i.m. flac. · Erwinase · Erwinase 10 000 U sol. inj./perf. (pdr.) i.v./i.m. flac. · Spectrila · Spectrila 10 000 U sol. perf. (pdr., à diluer) i.v. flac.

United Kingdom

Asparaginase · Asparaginase 10,000unit powder for solution for injection vials · Asparaginase 5,000unit powder for solution for injection vials · Erwinase · Erwinase 10,000unit powder for solution for injection vials · Spectrila · Spectrila 10,000unit powder for concentrate for solution for infusion vials

Denmark