Tykerb Side Effects: An Introduction
As with any medicine, side effects are possible with
Tykerb® (
lapatinib); however, not everyone who takes the drug will experience side effects. In fact, most people tolerate it quite well. If side effects do occur, in most cases, they are minor and either require no treatment or can easily be treated by you or your healthcare provider.
(This article covers many, but not all, of the possible side effects with Tykerb. Your healthcare provider can discuss a more complete list of Tykerb side effects with you.)
Common Side Effects of Tykerb
Tykerb has been studied thoroughly in clinical trials, in which a group of people taking the drug have side effects documented and compared to a group not taking the medicine. This way, it is possible to see what side effects occur, how often they appear, and how they compare to the group not taking the medicine.
Tykerb was studied in combination with
Xeloda® (
capecitabine). In these studies, the most common Tykerb side effects when used in combination with Xeloda included:
Other common side effects of Tykerb and Xeloda (occurring in 10 to 20 percent of people) included:
Many of these side effects are due mostly (or entirely) to Xeloda, not to Tykerb. In fact, nausea, hand-and-foot syndrome, and anemia are almost as common in people taking just Xeloda as in those taking both Xeloda and Tykerb (which suggests that these side effects are not caused by Tykerb).
