What Is Everolimus Used For?
Everolimus (
Afinitor®,
Zortress®) is a prescription medication belonging to a group of drugs called kinase inhibitors. It is also considered an immunosuppressant medication, which means it lowers the activity of the immune system.
Everolimus comes in a low- and high-dose product. High-dose everolimus (Afinitor) is approved to treat the following conditions:
- Advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a type of kidney cancer, which has not been successfully treated with sunitinib (Sutent®) or sorafenib (Nexavar®). Everolimus may help extend the length of time RCC remains stable and does not progress.
- Subependymal giant cell astrocytoma (SEGA), a type of brain tumor that occurs in people with a rare genetic condition known as tuberous sclerosis. Everolimus is approved for the treatment of SEGA that requires treatment but cannot be cured with surgery.
In lower doses, everolimus (Zortress) is approved to prevent kidney rejection in certain people after a kidney transplant. Transplant rejection occurs when the body's immune system mistakes the transplanted organ as a potentially harmful foreign substance and attacks it. When used for the prevention of kidney rejection, everolimus is given in combination with
cyclosporine (
Gengraf®,
Neoral®,
Sandimmune®) and a corticosteroid medicine, such as
prednisone.
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