Anktiva (Nogapendekin Alfa Inbakicept) for bladder cancer

Overview
Anktiva is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) along with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) to treat adults with a type of bladder cancer called BCG-unresponsive nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). This treatment is specifically for people whose cancer includes carcinoma in situ (CIS, a type of cancer that stays in the bladder lining) and may also have papillary tumors (small growths in the bladder). Anktiva is prescribed for individuals whose cancer has not improved or has come back after previous BCG treatment. Anktiva is also known by its drug name, nogapendekin alfa inbakicept.

Anktiva is a type of drug called an interleukin-15 (IL-15) receptor agonist. It helps the immune system fight bladder cancer by boosting the activity of natural killer cells and T cells, which are types of immune cells that attack cancer.

How do I take it?
Prescribing information states that Anktiva is given directly into the bladder (intravesical administration) after being mixed with a liquid. It is always used with BCG.

For the first round of treatment, called induction, Anktiva is generally given once a week for six weeks. If the cancer does not completely go away by the third month, a second six-week round of induction may be given.

For ongoing treatment, called maintenance, Anktiva is generally given once a week for three weeks at specific times: months 4, 7, 10, 13, and 19. If the cancer stays gone by month 25, additional three-week treatments may be given every six months until month 37. The drug should be administered exactly as directed by a health care provider.

Side effects
Common side effects of Anktiva include increased creatinine (a sign of changes in kidney function), dysuria (painful urination), hematuria (blood in the urine), needing to urinate frequently, feeling an urgent need to urinate, urinary tract infections, increased potassium levels, musculoskeletal (muscle or joint pain), chills, and fever.

Rare but serious side effects may include delaying cystectomy (surgery to remove the bladder). This delay could lead to cancer spreading to other parts of the body, which can be life-threatening.

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Label: Anktiva — Nogapendekin Alfa Inbakicept-Pmln Solution — DailyMed