← Cytarabine (Cytosine arabinoside)

Patient counseling sheet

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AfyaIndex · counseling handout

Cytarabine (Cytosine arabinoside)

Therapeutic agent (verify pharmacological class)

Prepared 20 Sep 2026

What it is used for

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) which include - acute promyelocytic, monocytic, myelomonocytic, megakaryoblastic, and erythroid leukemias; acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL); meningeal leukemia and other meningeal neoplasms; chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML); non-Hodgkin's lymphomas in children; myelodysplastic syndrome. It is used principally as a component of various chemotherapeutic regimens.

Warnings

Only physicians experienced in cancer chemotherapy should use it; increased incidence of infections; increased incidence of hemorrhagic complications; blood counts should be performed at least once a week.

Possible side effects

Bone marrow suppression [main adverse reaction] with leukopenia, thrombocytopenia and anemia; nausea; vomiting; diarrhea and abdominal pain; oral ulceration; hepatic dysfunction

Storage

Store as labelled. Keep out of reach of children.

No reviewed patient-education article is available. The fields shown are from the currently verified medicine record and unavailable fields are not inferred.

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