Is Erlotinib Safe in Breastfeeding

I am a breastfeeding mother and i want to know if it is safe to use Erlotinib? Is Erlotinib safe for nursing mother and child? Does Erlotinib extracts into breast milk? Does Erlotinib has any long term or short term side effects on infants? Can Erlotinib influence milk supply or can Erlotinib decrease milk supply in lactating mothers?

• DrLact safety Score for Erlotinib is 5 out of 8 which is considered Unsafe as per our analyses.
• A safety Score of 5 indicates that usage of Erlotinib may cause serious side effects in breastfed baby.
• Our study of different scientific research indicates that Erlotinib may cause moderate to high side effects or may affect milk supply in lactating mother.
• Our suggestion is to use safer alternate options rather than using Erlotinib .
• It is recommended to evaluate the advantage of not breastfeeding while using Erlotinib Vs not using Erlotinib And continue breastfeeding.
• While using Erlotinib Its must to monitor child for possible reactions. It is also important to understand that side effects vary largely based on age of breastfed child and time of medication in addition to dosage.
• Score calculated using the DrLact safety Version 1.2 model, this score ranges from 0 to 8 and measures overall safety of drug in lactation. Scores are primarily calculated using publicly available case studies, research papers, other scientific journals and publically available data.

Inhibitor of Epidermal Growth Factor receptor that acts by inhibition of tyrosine kinase phosphorylation and used for treatment of several types of cancer. At latest update, relevant published data on excretion into breast milk were not found. Because of high serum protein-binding capacity, excretion into breast milk in significant amount is seemingly unlikely. If continuation of safely breastfeeding is desired without assuming high risk for potentially severe side-effects, elimination of total burden of drug should be kept. For this to happen, breastfeeding should be stopped for 10 half-lives (T ½). It means wait 15 days after the last dose before resuming breastfeeding. Meanwhile, frequent pump-and-dump is recommended for maintenance of milk production.

No information is available on the clinical use of erlotinib during breastfeeding. Because erlotinib is 93% bound to plasma proteins, the amount in milk is likely to be low. However, its half-life is about 36 hours and it might accumulate in the infant. It is also given in combination with gemcitabine for pancreatic cancer, which may increase the risk to the infant. The manufacturer recommends that breastfeeding be discontinued during erlotinib therapy and for 2 weeks after the final dose.