Today is Saturday, July 05, 2008



 
And you thought you were done with pimples

And you thought you were done with pimples!  Unfortunately, acne is a side effect of a small number of chemotherapy agents.

Some of the chemo agents that can cause acne in varying degrees are: 

  • Methotrexate, which is used in the treatment of breast, head and neck, lung, blood, bone, and lymph, and tumors in the uterus, is one of those agents.
  • Androgens are prescribed for some breast cancer patients.
  • Progestins (brand names: Amen, Aygestin, Crinone, Curretab, Cycrin, Depo-Provera, Gesterol 50,  Gesterol LA 250, Hy/Gestrone, Hylutin, Megace, Prodrox, Prometrium, Pro-Span. Provera)  are prescribed for cancer of the kidney, breast and uterus.
  • Diclofinac (brand name: Solaraz) is a lotion used to treat actinic keratosis, a pre-cancerous skin condition.

Acne is just a transient side effect that should clear up as the drugs clear from your body.

This page was last edited on 11/19/2003
Written by Rachael Myers Lowe, cancerpage.com
Reviewed by Katie Mullaly, RN, MSN and Jane Quigley, RN, BSN


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