How IXEMPRA® (ixabepilone) Is Thought to Work
When your
chemotherapy treatment changes, it may feel as if you are starting all over. You may want to know how IXEMPRA is thought to work. Researchers have studied how IXEMPRA works in the laboratory. It is not known exactly how IXEMPRA works in the body.
IXEMPRA gets inside the cancer cell
Pumps are found on the surface of cancer cells. The pumps work to remove medicine from inside the cancer cells. Sometimes these pumps remove too much of the medicine. This means not enough medicine is inside to kill the cancer cells. The cancer cells can then continue to grow and divide. In laboratory tests, some pumps had a low effect on IXEMPRA. This may mean more IXEMPRA can stay inside cancer cells.
IXEMPRA affects the structure of the cell
Inside normal cells and cancer cells are tubes that make up the structure of the cells and help the cells grow and divide. Medicines connect to the tubes and stop cancer cells from growing and dividing. Sometimes cancer cells change the way the tubes are built. This makes it hard for the medicines to connect to the tubes. When that happens, the cancer cells can continue to grow and divide. IXEMPRA can connect to different types of tubes, including ones that may have changed. IXEMPRA may cause cancer cells to stop dividing. IXEMPRA is also thought to work by helping to block the blood supply to tumors.
Important Safety Information
Treatment with IXEMPRA may cause
serious side effects, including neuropathy, low white blood cell count, allergic reactions, and harm to an unborn baby. This may not be a complete list of all side effects you might experience. Learn about the
serious side effects of IXEMPRA.