Bleomycin injection for warts
Content provided by Healthwise
Examples
| Brand Name | Chemical Name |
| Blenoxane | bleomycin |
How It Works
Bleomycin is an anticancer medication used to stop tumor growth.
Why It Is Used
Although nongenital warts are not cancerous, bleomycin injection is sometimes used to kill skin cells, effectively stopping wart growth.
How Well It Works
There is no consistent evidence on how effective bleomycin is for warts. Cure rates have varied between 16% and 94%.1
Side Effects
Bleomycin causes pain during and after the injection into a wart. Longer-term side effects include:
- Scarring.
- Nail damage.
- Skin color changes.
See Drug Reference for a full list of side effects. (Drug Reference is not available in all systems.)
What To Think About
Bleomycin is injected into warts that have been resistant to other treatments. It is usually used as a last resort because the injection is painful and expensive.
Bleomycin is considered too toxic to safely treat children or pregnant or breast-feeding women.
Bleomycin should not be used in people with Raynaud's phenomenon or peripheral arterial disease.
Complete the new medication information form (PDF) (What is a PDF document?) to help you understand this medication.
References
Citations
Gibbs S, et al. (2006). Local treatments for cutaneous warts. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (1). Oxford: Update Software.
Credits
| Author | Sabra L. Katz-Wise |
| Author | Ralph Poore |
| Editor | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA |
| Associate Editor | Pat Truman |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine |
| Specialist Medical Reviewer | Randall D. Burr, MD - Dermatology |
| Last Updated | October 20, 2006 |
Print This
| Last updated: | October 20, 2006 |
|---|---|
| Author: | Ralph Poore |
| Reviewed By: | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine, Randall D. Burr, MD - Dermatology |
| Editors: | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman |
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