Cyclophosphamide Treatment for MS

Cyclophosphamide is an injectable or oral generic prescription medication most commonly used as a chemotherapy drug to destroy cancerous cells. A far less common use for cyclophosphamide is the treatment of multiple sclerosis symptoms.

Background

• Using cyclophosphamide for the treatment of MS is known as an off-label use, meaning that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gives no approval for the effectiveness of cyclophosphamide in treating multiple sclerosis.

Function

• Cyclophosphamide suppresses or decreases the activities of your immune system. Because the damage to nerve fibers in MS patients is likely due to the improper functioning of the immune system, cyclophosphamide has the potential to decrease symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

Expert Insight

• A 2007 study conducted at the Istituto Nazionale Neurologico C. Besta in Milan, Italy, found that cyclophosphamide improved symptoms during the first 18 months of treatment with the drug. After two years of treatment, patients taking cyclophosphamide reported an equal amount or more symptoms of MS than patients not receiving the treatment.

Risks

• Common side effects of cyclophosphamide include nausea, vomiting and hair loss. Risks associated with use of the drug include the development lymphoma cancer, infertility, severe bladder infections, congestive heart failure, allergic reactions and an increased incidence of bacterial, viral and fungal infections, warns the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Considerations

• Because cyclophosphamide poses a risk for fetal harm, doctors restrict the use of the drug in pregnant women with MS to instances where there is no safe alternative to treatment. If you have a history of gout, kidney or liver disease, kidney stones or adrenal gland removal, it may not be safe for you to take cyclophosphamide, cautions the Mayo Clinic.