All of the following statements about Erlotinib are true, except:
Ans is 'b' i.e. Food decreases its absorption Erlotinib o Erlotinib is a human HER1/EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor. o It is indicated for treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non small cell lung cancer. It is also used in carcinoma of pancreas, head & neck cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma and carcinoma of unknown primary. o Erlotinib is about 60% absorbed after oral administration and its bioavailability is substantially increased to almost 100% by food The time to peak concentrations is approximately 4 hours after a dose. The half life of erlotinib is about 36 hours and it is eliminated predominately by CYP450 3 A4. Smoking increases the clearance of erlotinib by 24% which may result in treatment failure. o The most common adverse reaction in patients receiving erlotinib are diarrhea and rash. Other side effects are intersitital lung disease, anorexia, pruritis, conjunctivitis, elevated livers enzymes and bleeding.
Tyrosine kinase inhibitor
Food decreases its absorption
Rashes may occur
Used in Non small cell lung carcinoma