Like all medicines, MabCampath can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.
Your doctor may give you other medicines or change your dose to help reduce any side effects (see section 2 ?Take Special care?).
Serious side effects, including difficulty in breathing, inflammation of the lungs, extreme shortness of breath, fainting, heart attack, low red blood cell and low blood platelet levels, infections, bleeding in the brain (intracranial haemorrhage) have occurred with fatal outcome. Diseases related to an overactive immune system where your immune system attacks your own body can lead to low red blood cells, low blood platelets and/or low white blood cells, and nerve disorders, and these can also be fatal. Tell your doctor immediately if you experience any of these side effects.
In addition, testing indicating the presence of antibodies that may destroy red blood cells (Coombs test) has been reported.
Very common side effects (seen in at least 1 in every 10 patients treated in clinical trials):
Usually one or more of these effects happen during the first week after the start of treatment:
fever, shiveringchills, sweating, nausea feeling sick, vomiting, low blood pressure, low whitered blood cell levels, infections including pneumonia and blood poisoning, irritation andor blistering of the mouth region, low blood platelet levels, tiredness, rash, itching, red raised lesions on the skin, shortness of breath, headache, diarrhoea and loss of appetite.
They are usually only mild or moderate problems and they gradually diminish during the course of treatment.
Common side effects (affects 1 to 10 patients in every 100 patients treated in clinical trials):
high blood pressure, fast or slow heart rate, feeling your heart racing, blood vessel spasm becoming red in the face, bruising of the skin taste changes decreased sense of touch dizziness, sensation of spinning, fainting, shaking or trembling movements, feeling restless eye inflammation e.g. conjunctivitis pins and needles or burning sensation of the skin abnormal liver function, constipation, indigestion, passing abdominal gas inflammation, irritation andor tightness of the lungs, throat andor sinuses, too little oxygen reaching the body organs, coughing, coughing up of blood abdominal bleeding e.g. in the stomach and intestine injection site reactions including redness, swelling, pain, bruising, inflammation generally feeling unwell, weakness, pain in various parts of the body muscle, back, chest, bones, joints, stomach and intestine weight loss, dehydration, thirst, swelling of the lower legs, temperature change sensation, low calcium or sodium blood levels flu-like symptoms abscess, skin redness or allergic skin reaction, blistering of the skin confusion, anxiety, depression, sleeplessness
Uncommon side effects (affects 1 to 10 in every patients in 1,000 patients treated in clinical trials):
bone marrow disorders heart disorders heart stopping, heart attack, heart congestion, irregular heart rate blood disorders abnormal clotting, decreased protein, low potassium levels high blood sugar, worsening diabetes bleeding and inflammation of the gums, blisters on the tongue, nosebleeds fluid in the lungs, difficulty breathing, harsh sound when breathing, runny nose, abnormal findings in the lungs, lymph gland disorders nervousness, abnormal thinking swelling around the eye ringing sound in the ears, deafness hiccups, burping hoarseness abnormal kidney function paralysis of the small bowel impotence unsteadiness, increased muscle tone unusual increased or altered sensitivity to touch abnormal sensationfeeling or movement pain when urinating, decreases in urine flow, increased frequency in urination, blood in urine, incontinence 58
tumour lysis syndrome a metabolic disorder, which may begin with pains in the side and blood in the urine
If any of the side effects gets serious, or if you notice any side effects not listed in this leaflet, please tell your doctor or your pharmacist.