Trodelvy

Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan) affects your bone marrow and causes your body to make fewer white blood cells. Low amounts of white blood cells can raise your chance of bleeding and make you more likely to get infections. You’ll have your blood drawn during treatment with Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan) to make sure the medication is safe to take. If your white blood cell levels are too low, your oncologist might lower your dose, adjust your treatment schedule, or prescribe extra medications to boost your white blood cells. Talk to your oncologist right away if you develop a fever or other signs of infection, like sore throat, cough, trouble catching your breath, chills, or pain or burning on urination.

Diarrhea is a common Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan) side effect. Although the diarrhea is usually mild, some people taking the medication experience severe diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration and kidney problems. Talk to your oncologist if you experience diarrhea, they might recommend over-the-counter diarrhea medications, like loperamide (Imodium A-D), to help with your symptoms. Stay hydrated and let your doctor know if you have black or bloody stools, signs of dehydration (e.g. dizziness, lightheadedness), diarrhea lasting more than 24 hours, or diarrhea that’s interfering with your ability to eat and drink as usual.

Infusion reactions can happen with Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan), and your treatment team will give you medications (e.g. acetaminophen (Tylenol), diphenhydramine (Benadryl), famotidine (Pepcid AC)) to prevent these reactions. But in rare cases, people with severe infusion reactions had to go to the hospital and receive urgent treatment. Notify your treatment team if you have shortness of breath, chills, flushing, chest discomfort, swelling, itching, nausea, or vomiting during the infusion. They’ll likely pause the infusion and give you medications to manage your symptoms. If the reaction isn’t serious, they’ll continue the Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan) infusion at a slower rate. After each infusion, the team will monitor you for at least 30 minutes to make sure there aren’t any reactions.

Many people taking Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan) have nausea and vomiting. Nausea can last for several days after you take your dose. Before each infusion, you’ll receive medication to prevent nausea and vomiting. Your oncologist might also prescribe other medications to take at home as needed. If you have nausea and the medications you have aren’t working well to manage it, let your healthcare team know. If your symptoms are severe, you might have to pause or stop taking Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan).

In studies, people who had certain changes in the gene UGT1A1 had higher rates of side effects with Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan). Specifically, people with these gene changes had low white blood counts earlier after treatment, and at higher rates. Your oncologist probably won’t test you for these gene changes before starting treatment, so it’s important to tell your treatment team if you’ve been told that you have changes in the UGT1A1 gene. If you do, your oncologist will likely keep a close eye on how you’re doing or make changes to your treatment plan.