2-CdA

Cladribine or 2-CdA or 2-Chlorodeoxyadenosine is another anti-canetc drug used to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas, hairy cell leukemia etc.

How is this drug administered?

This drug is administered into the body by continuous infusion for an hour or two consecutively for a few days. The amount of this drug administered depends upon factors like your weight, height, health related problems and the type of cancer and the stage of cancer.

Side effects: Like all cancer treatment drugs this drug as such as no harmful side effects and those that are temporary usually wear off after the treatment cycle. The side effects of this drug depend upon the severity and the dosage of this drug. Some of the common side effects seen are fever, decrease in the white blood cell count which further increases your chances of getting infected and anemia. Other side effects are nausea, skin rashes, loss of appetite, low platelet count, fatigue etc.

As of date there have been no long lasting side effects due to the administration of Cladribine. It has been advised that you need to consult your doctor if you experience high temperature especially with chills, nausea which prevents you from taking your medications also, extreme vomiting, unusual bleeding, tarry or black stools, passing blood in your urine or stools and constipation.

There are certain precautionary methods that you need to adhere to help you overcome the side effects and they are: before you start your medication you need to inform your doctor about the medications that you are currently taking apart from that you need to seek your doctor’s approval before you go in for any immunization or vaccination, keep your doctor informed about any pregnancy as cladribine is harmful for the fetus, avoid breast feeding. Pregnancy should be avoided strictly.

Certain tips to help yourself: Use of anti-nausea drugs is recommended, eating smaller meals at frequent intervals, drinking more of fluids or water is advised, avoiding crowded place to prevent infection is advised, following a strict hygiene, avoiding activities wherein the chances of injuries is high, exposure to direct sunlight, following a nutritious diet are some of the tips to help take care to prevent side effects.

Periodic blood checkups are a must so that the blood count and the functioning of the internal organs are monitored. These chemotherapy drugs help destroy the growth of the cancerous cells and also prevent the further division of the cells. These drugs also help shrink the size of the tumor and sometimes induce the cells to destroy themselves which in other words is known as apoptosis.

Sometimes there are certain side effects that are more severe and leave a permanent damage to some of the internal body organs but then these depend upon the mode of treatment, the stage of cancer etc.

Cladribine as you know belongs to the chemotherapy group of drugs which are often referred to as ant metabolites. These are further divided or classified on their reaction to substances with which they react. You need to know the action of the chemotherapy drug and the side effects, effects and their reaction before you start the mode of treatment so that you can keep your doctor fully informed in case of any side effects while you are undergoing the treatment.