Rucaparib

Rucaparib is a prescription medication used for the treatment of Ovarian Cancer and Prostate Cancer. 

• Rucaparib is available under the following different brand names: Rubraca 

Common side effects of Rucaparib include:

• Low blood cell counts,
• Shortness of breath,
• Stuffy nose,
• Sneezing,
• Sore throat,
• Stomach pain,
• Bloating,
• Loss of appetite,
• Nausea,
• Vomiting,
• Diarrhea,
• Constipation,
• Mouth sores,
• Changes in the sense of taste,
• Weakness,
• Tiredness,
• Rash, and
• Abnormal liver function tests

Serious side effects of Rucaparib include:

• Hives,
• Difficulty breathing,
• Swelling of the face, lips, tongue, or throat,
• Easy bruising,
• Unusual bleeding (nose, mouth, vagina, or rectum),
• Purple or red pinpoint spots under your skin,
• Blood in the urine,
• Fever,
• Mouth sores,
• Skin sores,
• Sore throat,
• Cough,
• Pale skin,
• Unusual tiredness,
• Lightheadedness,
• Shortness of breath, and
• Cold hands and feet

Rare side effects of Rucaparib include:

• none 

Seek medical care or call 911 at once if you have the following serious side effects:

• Severe headache, confusion, slurred speech, arm or leg weakness, trouble walking, loss of coordination, feeling unsteady, very stiff muscles, high fever, profuse sweating, or tremors;
• Serious eye symptoms such as sudden vision loss, blurred vision, tunnel vision, eye pain or swelling, or seeing halos around lights;
• Serious heart symptoms include fast, irregular, or pounding heartbeats; fluttering in the chest; shortness of breath; sudden dizziness, lightheadedness, or passing out.

This is not a complete list of side effects and other serious side effects or health problems that may occur because of the use of this drug. Call your doctor for medical advice about serious side effects or adverse reactions. You may report side effects or health problems to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Adult dosage

Tablet

• 200 mg
• 250 mg
• 300 mg

Ovarian Cancer

Adult dosage

• Maintenance treatment
  • 600 mg orally two times a day
  • Continue until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity

Deleterious BRCA mutation

• withdrawal for BRCA mutation-associated epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer after the above 2 chemotherapies

Prostate Cancer

Adult dosage

• 600 mg orally two times a day
• Continue until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity
• Should also receive a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analog concurrently or should have had bilateral orchiectomy

Dosage Considerations – Should be Given as Follows: 

• See “Dosages”

If your medical doctor is using this medicine to treat your pain, your doctor or pharmacist may already be aware of any possible drug interactions and may be monitoring you for them. Do not start, stop, or change the dosage of any medicine before checking with your doctor, health care provider, or pharmacist first.

• Rucaparib has severe interactions with the following drugs:
  • finerenone
  • isavuconazonium sulfate
  • lonafarnib
  • mavacamten
  • pacritinib
  • voclosporin
• Rucaparib has serious interactions with the following drugs:
  • abrocitinib
  • daridorexant
  • fexinidazole
  • infigratinib
  • mobocertinib
  • palifermin
  • pimozide
  • pralsetinib
  • theophylline
• Rucaparib has moderate interactions with at least 352 other drugs.
• Rucaparib has minor interactions with the following drug:
  • ganaxolone

This information does not contain all possible interactions or adverse effects. Visit the RxList Drug Interaction Checker for any drug interactions. Therefore, before using this product, tell your doctor or pharmacist about all your products. Keep a list of all your medications with you and share this information with your doctor and pharmacist. Check with your healthcare professional or doctor for additional medical advice, or if you have health questions or concerns.

Contraindications

• None

Effects of drug abuse

• None

Short-Term Effects

• See “What Are Side Effects Associated with Using Rucaparib?”

Long-Term Effects

• See “What Are Side Effects Associated with Using Rucaparib?”

Cautions

• Rare reports of myelodysplastic syndrome/acute myeloid leukemia; evaluate CBC at baseline and monthly thereafter; do not initiate until patients recover from hematological toxicities caused by previous chemotherapy (. e, a grade below 1)
• Not recommended in patients with neutrophil counts below1000 cells/mm3; consider alternative therapy when treating patients with neutropenia and acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections
• Increases susceptibility to sunburn; advice to use appropriate sun protection
• Based on its mechanism of action, can cause fetal harm
• Drug interaction overview
  • Rucaparib inhibits CYP1A2, CYP3A, CYP2C9, and CYP2C19; if concomitant administration is unavoidable where minimal concentration changes may lead to serious adverse reactions, decrease the substrate dosage by e approved prescribing information
  • Adjust the dosage of CYP1A2, CYP3A, CYP2C9, or CYP2C19 substrates, if clinically indicated
  • If co-administration with warfarin (a CYP2C9 substrate) cannot be avoided, consider increasing the frequency of INR monitoring

Pregnancy and Lactation

• Based on findings from animal studies and its mechanism of action, can cause fetal harm when administered to pregnant women
• There are no available data on pregnant women to inform the drug-associated risk
• Pregnancy testing is recommended for females of reproductive potential before initiating
• Contraception
  • Females of reproductive potential: Use effective contraception during treatment and for 6 months following the final dose
  • Males with female partners of reproductive potential: Use effective contraception during treatment and for 3 months following the final dose
  • Sperm donation: Do not donate sperm during treatment and for 3 months following the final dose
• Lactation
  • Unknown if distributed in human breast milk
  • Advise women not to breastfeed during treatment and for 2 weeks after the final dose