Vincristine: What it Is & What it Is Used For
Vincristine sulfate for injection is the salt of an alkaloid from the flowering periwinkle plant (also known as Vinca rosea Linn). It was originally known as leurocristine, and is now sometimes also referred to as LCR or VCR. There are several trade names for vincristine:
It is used for the treatment of a number of types of cancerous conditions.
Vincristine is FDA-approved for patients with the following cancers:
- Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
- Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (lymphocytic, mixed cell, histiocytic, undifferentiated, nodular, and diffuse types)
- Hodgkin disease
- Rhabdomyosarcoma
- Neuroblastoma
- Wilms tumor
It is important to keep in mind that physicians also have the authority to prescribe drugs for conditions other than those for which the drug has been FDA approved; therefore, vincristine sulfate may sometimes be used in the treatment of breast cancer and small-cell lung cancer, or other cancers as well (Oncovin® drug package insert; Polovich et al, 2005).