Is It Safe To Take Hydroxeurea For Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia?

Posted on Tue, 3 Dec 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 3 Dec 2013 Answered on

Fri, 20 Dec 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : Is Hydroxeurea advised for people over 60 with Cmml? Can this drug kill?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Shruti Rijhwani (47 minutes later)

Brief Answer: Follows. Detailed Answer: Dear Madam, Thank you for posting your query on XXXXXXX Well looking into your problem I would like to tell you that Hydroxyurea is the drug of choice to control cell proliferation and to reduce organomegaly in patients with CMML. The drug choice depends on the staging of cancer and othe comorbidities so treatment is always individualised . Hydroxy urea is a widely used drug and it cannot kill someone . It can lead to nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, constipation, mucositis, alopecia most commonly . There exist a risk for leukemia but that is very low. Keep faith in your treating doctor as he is the best judge for your situation . Take care. Dr. Shruti

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Shruti Rijhwani (15 minutes later)

cmml is leukemia so how can a drug be prescribed that causes leukemia to a patient already diagnosed with it????

Answered by Dr. Dr. Shruti Rijhwani (10 hours later)

Brief Answer: Follows. Detailed Answer: Dear Madam, Hydroxyurea has been used primarily for the treatment of myeloproliferative diseases, which has an inherent risk of transforming to acute myeloid leukemia that is it can convert it to to active form but long term studies show that the risk is negligible . Dr. Shruti

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar