Mercaptopurine is a chemotherapy medication used to treat leukemia, a type of blood cancer. According to Drugs.com, mercaptopurine belongs to a category of drugs called antimetabolites. It is a medication that helps reduce the progression of leukemic cancer cells, and subsequently destroy them. Mercaptopurine is available in tablet form and you will typically take 1.5 to 2mg/kg (milligrams per kilogram of your own body weight) of mercaptopurine daily or as your physician prescribes, says the National Library of Medicine.
Common Side Effects
According to MedlinePlus, mercaptopurine typically causes a headache, melasma (darkening of the skin), weakness and changes in your weight and appetite. Mercaptopurine also causes jaundice, a condition in which your skin and sclera (white parts of your eye) turn yellow. Jaundice occurs when there is liver damage. Your doctor will obtain your blood sample to evaluate liver enzyme levels in your blood. Liver damage is present when these liver enzymes are elevated. Inform your doctor when mercaptopurine causes these effects to last longer than four days.
Serious Side Effects
The National Library of Medicine says that mercaptopurine causes bone marrow suppression. Your bone marrow (located in the core of your bones) is responsible for making all the cells in your body. When it no longer functions properly, anemia, thrombocytopenia and leukopenia results. Anemia refers to a condition in which your red blood cell count is low. Symptoms of anemia include pale skin, asthenia (physical weakness) and fatigue. Thrombocytopenia, a blood disorder of reduced platelet clots, is physically manifested as easy bleeding or bruising. Your blood is unable to clot without adequate amounts of platelets in your blood. Leukopenia refers to decreased white blood cells. White blood cells fight infection and without them, you are susceptible to a wide variety of infections.
Also, mercaptopurine can also cause hyperuricemia and hyperurosuria. Hyperuricemia refers to high levels of uric acid in your blood while hyperurocosuria refers to increased amounts of uric acid in your urine. Simply drinking eight to nine full cups of water a day can lower the uric acid in your blood and urine.
Other Harmful Side Effects
According to Drugs.com, mercaptopurine can cause black or bloody stools, bloody urine, back pain and difficulty urinating. Black or bloody stools are typically indicative of stomach or intestinal bleeding. This can occur when you have ulcer formations in those aforementioned areas. Call your doctor when mercaptopurine causes these side effects.
Additional Concerns
Avoid mercaptopurine if you are allergic to it. Serious and even potentially lethal side effects like trouble breathing and angioedema (throat and tongue swelling) can result.
Do not take mercaptopurine when you are pregnant. According to the National Library of Medicine, mercaptopurine can cause abortion and birth defects, especially during the first three months of pregnancy.
Avoid taking mercaptopurine with the Rotavirus vaccine and with febuxostat. The mixture alone can cause the aforementioned effects.
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