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Dacarbazine (Intravenous Route, Injection Route)
Drug Information provided by: MicromedexUS Brand Names
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Canadian Brand Names
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Description
Dacarbazine belongs to the group of medicines called alkylating agents. It is used to treat cancer of the lymph system and malignant melanoma (a type of skin cancer). It may also be used to treat other kinds of cancer, as determined by your doctor.
Dacarbazine interferes with the growth of cancer cells, which are eventually destroyed. Since the growth of normal body cells may also be affected by dacarbazine, other effects will also occur. Some of these may be serious and must be reported to your doctor. Other effects, like hair loss, may not be serious but may cause concern. Some effects may not occur for months or years after the medicine is used.
Before you begin treatment with dacarbazine, you and your doctor should talk about the good this medicine will do as well as the risks of using it.
Dacarbazine is to be administered only by or under the immediate supervision of your doctor.
Once a medicine has been approved for marketing for a certain use, experience may show that it is also useful for other medical problems. Although these uses are not included in product labeling, dacarbazine is used in certain patients with the following medical conditions:
- Cancer of the islet cells (a part of the pancreas)
- Soft tissue sarcomas (a cancer of the muscles, tendons, vessels that carry blood or lymph, joints, and fat)
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