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Generic drug: valrubicin
Brand name: Valstar
What is Valstar (valrubicin), and how does it work?
Valstar (valrubicin) is a cancer (antineoplastic) medication used to treat bladder cancer.
What are the side effects of Valstar?
Common side effects of Valstar include:
- bladder irritation (symptoms such as pain, spasm, frequent urge to urinate, and
- blood in the urine),
- urinary incontinence,
- urinary tract infection, and
- nausea
Valstar usually will cause urine to turn a reddish color for about 24 hours following a dose. This is a normal, harmless side effect of Valstar and should not be mistaken for blood in the urine.
What is the dosage for Valstar?
Recommended Dosing
For Intravesical Use Only. Do NOT administer by intravenous or intramuscular routes.
Valstar is recommended at a dose of 800 mg administered intravesically once a
week for six weeks. Delay administration at least two weeks after transurethral
resection and/or fulguration.
What drugs interact with Valstar?
No drug interaction studies were conducted.
Is Valstar safe to use while pregnant or breastfeeding?
- Based on findings in animal studies and its mechanism of action, Valstar can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant females.
- There are no available data in pregnant females to inform the drug-associated risk.
- There are no data on the presence of valrubicin or its metabolites in human milk, the effects of valrubicin on the breastfed infant, or its effects on milk production.
- Because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in breast-fed infants from valrubicin, advise a lactating female not to breastfeed during treatment with
Valstar and for 2 weeks after the final dose.