Melphalan (Oral Route)

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Melphalan (Oral Route)

US Brand Names

Description

Melphalan belongs to the group of medicines called alkylating agents. It is used to treat cancer of the ovaries and a certain type of cancer in the bone marrow.

Melphalan interferes with the growth of cancer cells, which are eventually destroyed. Since the growth of normal body cells may also be affected by melphalan, other effects will also occur. Some of these may be serious and must be reported to your doctor. Other effects 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 melphalan, you and your doctor should talk about the good this medicine will do as well as the risks of using it.

Melphalan is available only with your doctor's prescription.

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, melphalan is used in certain patients with the following conditions:

• Cancer of the breast
• Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (type of cancer of the blood)
• Cancer of the blood and lymph system
• Cancer of the endometrium
• Malignant melanoma (type of skin cancer that has spread to other parts of the body)

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