durvalumab

Action and Spectrum

Actions and spectrum:  

Durvalumab inhibits the interaction of PD-L1 with CD 80 and PD-1 that inhibits the immune responses without causing cell-mediated toxicity which is antibody dependent.  

Drug Interaction

Adverse Reaction

Frequency defined:  

>10%:  

Pruritis  

Skin rash   

Hyperglycemia   

Diarrhea  

Fatigue     

1%-10%  

Dermatitis  

Night sweats 

Abdominal pain  

Colitis  

<1%:  

Myocarditis  

Vasculitis  

Type 1 diabetes mellitus 

Black Box Warning

Black Box Warning   

None  

Contraindication / Caution

Contraindication/Caution:  

None

Pregnancy / Lactation

Pregnancy Warnings: 

Pregnancy category: N/A 

Lactation: Excretion of the drug into the human breast milk is unknown 

Pregnancy categories: 

Category A: Satisfactory and well-controlled studies show no evidence of risk to the fetus in the first trimester or in the later trimester. 

Category B: No evidence of risk to fetus found in animal reproduction studies and there are not enough studies on pregnant women. 

Category C: Adverse effects on the fetus found with evidence in animal reproduction studies and no adequate evidence for an effect in humans, care must be taken for potential risks in pregnant women. 

Category D: There is adequate data available with sufficient evidence of human fetal risk from various platforms, but despite potential risks may be used only in emergency cases for potential benefits. 

Category X: Drugs listed in this category clearly outweigh risks over benefits. These category drugs should be prohibited for pregnant women. 

Category N: There is no data available for the drug under this category. 

Pharmacology

Pharmacology:  

Durvalumab is an antineoplastic agent and inhibits PD-L1 used to treat advanced urothelial carcinoma.  

Pharmacodynamics:  

Durvalumab stimulates immune cell-mediated antitumor responses. It blocks PD-L1 from acting, which increases the activation of T cells and improves tumor cell ablation and detection.   

Pharmacokinetics:  

Limited information is available on ADME.  

Adminstartion

Administration:  

It is administered as an intravenous infusion. 

Patient Information Leaflet

Generic Name: durvalumab 

Pronunciation: dur-VAL-yoo-mab 

Why do we use durvalumab? 

Durvalumab (Imfinzi) is an immunotherapy used to treat several cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), bile duct and gallbladder cancers, unresectable liver cancer, advanced or recurrent dMMR endometrial cancer, and certain cases of muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). It works by boosting the immune system’s ability to detect and attack cancer cells, helping to slow cancer growth, reduce tumor size, and improve survival.