DBL Vinblastine Drug Interactions

Caution should be exercised with the concomitant administration of DBL Vinblastine Injection with bone marrow suppressant drugs such as azathioprine, interferon, chloramphenicol, amphotericin B, colchicine, flucytosine and zidovudine.
The simultaneous oral or intravenous administration of phenytoin and antineoplastic chemotherapy combinations that included DBL Vinblastine Injection have been reported to have reduced blood levels of phenytoin and to have increased seizure activity. Dosage adjustment should be based on phenytoin blood level monitoring. The contribution of vinblastine to this interaction is not certain. The interaction may result from either reduced absorption of phenytoin or an increase in the rate of its metabolism and elimination.
Immunisation with live vaccines in patients being treated with DBL Vinblastine Injection may result in a potentially life-threatening infection. The immune response of the body is suppressed by vinblastine. The effectiveness of the vaccine may be poor and generalised infection may occur in patients immunised with live vaccines. Live vaccines should not be administered to patients being treated with vinblastine.
The chemotherapy medicine regimen of vinblastine, bleomycin and cisplatin appears to cause serious life-threatening cardiovascular toxicity. One report describes five patients under treatment for germ cell tumours who died from acute life-threatening vascular events (myocardial infarction, rectal infarction, cerebrovascular accident) following VBP therapy. This drug combination is very effective in the treatment of testicular carcinoma but its potential toxicity is serious.
There are several reports describing an increase in lung disease in patients treated with a combination of vinblastine and mitomycin. Diffuse lung damage characterised by interstitial infiltrates and pleural effusions resulting in respiratory distress and cough have been described after treatment with vinblastine. The potential hazards of combining vinblastine and mitomycin necessitate the avoidance of this combination.