Gazyva (Obinutuzumab) for Lymphoma

Overview
Gazyva is a prescription drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat follicular lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Gazyva is often prescribed in combination with other drugs such Treanda and Leukeran. Gazyva is also known by its drug name, obinutuzumab.

Gazyva is used in immunotherapy for cancer. Gazyva is a biologic drug, a genetically engineered protein, or antibody, that targets the CD20 protein on lymphoma cells. Gazyva is believed to work by stimulating the immune system to attack lymphoma cells.

How do I take it?
Gazyva is administered as an intravenous infusion on specific days of a treatment cycle.

Gazyva comes in the form of a single-dose vial.

Side effects
The FDA-approved label for Gazyva lists common side effects including headache, fever, fatigue, cough, upper respiratory infection, pneumonia, infusion site reactions, itching, diarrhea, constipation, loss of appetite, hair loss, joint pain, and low blood cell counts.

Rare but serious side effects listed for Gazyva can include hypersensitivity reactions, severe infections, fetal harm in pregnant women, tumor lysis syndrome (a potentially fatal metabolic condition caused when many cancer cells die at the same time), and reactivation of hepatitis B virus that can lead to liver failure and death. Taking Gazyva increases the risk of developing a fatal brain infection called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML).

For more details about this treatment, visit:

Gazyva — Genentech
https://www.gazyva.com

Immunotherapy for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma — American Cancer Society
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/non-hodgkin-lymph...

Immunotherapy — Lymphoma Research Foundation
https://lymphoma.org/aboutlymphoma/treatments/i...