Bleomycin for Injection should be considered a palliative treatment. It has been shown to be useful in the management of the following neoplasms either as a single agent or in proven combinations with other approved chemotherapeutic agents:

Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Head and neck (including mouth, tongue, tonsil, nasopharynx, oropharynx, sinus, palate, lip, buccal mucosa, gingivae, epiglottis, skin, larynx), penis, cervix, and vulva. The response to bleomycin is poorer in patients with previously irradiated head and neck cancer.

Lymphomas
Hodgkin's Disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Testicular Carcinoma
Embryonal cell, choriocarcinoma, and teratocarcinoma.

WARNING

It is recommended that Bleomycin for Injection be administered under the supervision of a qualified physician experienced in the use of cancer chemotherapeutic agents. Appropriate management of therapy and complications is possible only when adequate diagnostic and treatment facilities are readily available.

Pulmonary fibrosis is the most severe toxicity associated with Bleomycin for Injection. The most frequent presentation is pneumonitis occasionally progressing to pulmonary fibrosis. Its occurrence is higher in elderly patients and in those receiving greater than 400 units total dose, but pulmonary toxicity has been observed in young patients and those treated with low doses.

A severe idiosyncratic reaction consisting of hypotension, mental confusion, fever, chills, and wheezing has been reported in approximately 1% of lymphoma patients treated with Bleomycin for Injection.

Please refer to full prescribing information.

Common side effects include erythema, rash, striae, hyperpigmentation and vesiculation of the skin. Fever, chills, vomiting, anorexia and weight loss are also frequent. In approximately 1% of the lymphoma patients treated with Bleomycin for Injection, an idiosyncratic reaction, similar to anaphylaxis clinically, has been reported. The reaction may be immediate or delayed for several hours, and usually occurs after the first or second dose. It consists of hypotension, mental confusion, fever, chills and wheezing. Treatment is symptomatic including volume expansion, pressor agents, antihistamines, and corticosteroids.