Mercaptopurine (Oral Route)

Mayo Clinic Health Manager

Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.

Get Started

Free

E-Newsletter

Subscribe to receive the latest updates on health topics. About our newsletters

  • Housecall
  • Alzheimer's caregiving
  • Living with cancer

Side Effects

Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Also, because of the way cancer medicines act on the body, there is a chance that they might cause other unwanted effects that may not occur until months or years after the medicine is used. These delayed effects may include certain types of cancer. Discuss these possible effects with your doctor.

Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur:

Less common
  • Black, tarry stools
  • Blood in urine or stools
  • Cough or hoarseness
  • Fever or chills
  • Lower back or side pain
  • Painful or difficult urination
  • Pinpoint red spots on skin
  • Unusual bleeding or bruising

Check with your doctor as soon as possible if any of the following side effects occur:

More common
  • Unusual tiredness or weakness
  • Yellow eyes or skin
Less common
  • Joint pain
  • Loss of appetite
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Swelling of feet or lower legs
Rare
  • Sores in mouth and on lips

Some side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects. Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

Less common
  • Darkening of skin
  • Diarrhea
  • Headache
  • Skin rash and itching
  • Weakness

After you stop using this medicine, it may still produce some side effects that need attention. During this period of time, check with your doctor immediately if you notice the following side effects:

  • Black, tarry stools
  • Blood in urine or stools
  • Cough or hoarseness
  • Fever or chills
  • Lower back or side pain
  • Painful or difficult urination
  • Pinpoint red spots on skin
  • Unusual bleeding or bruising
  • Yellow eyes or skin

Other side effects not listed may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your healthcare professional.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Precautions

DR600895

Portions of this document last updated:

Nov. 1, 2009

Source: Drug Information provided by: Micromedex

Copyright © 2009 Thomson Healthcare Inc. All rights reserved. Information is for End User's use only and may not be sold, redistributed or otherwise used for commercial purposes.


Text Size: smaller largerlarger