Question

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

Lucentis lactation summary

Lucentis is safe in breastfeeding
  • DrLact safety Score for Lucentis is 1 out of 8 which is considered Safe as per our analyses.
  • A safety Score of 1 indicates that usage of Lucentis is mostly safe during lactation for breastfed baby.
  • Our study of different scientific research also indicates that Lucentis does not cause any serious side effects in breastfeeding mothers.
  • Most of scientific studies and research papers declaring usage of Lucentis safe in breastfeeding are based on normal dosage and may not hold true for higher 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.

Answer by Dr. Ru: About Lucentis usage in lactation

Human-like monoclonal antibody (IgG1 immunoglobulin) produced by DNA recombinant technology. Action is by blockage of endothelial growth factor. Has been used for treatment of several types of cancer. Useful for treatment of eye macular degeneration secondary to choroidal neovascularization. Because of a high molecular weight and a protein structure, excretion into breast milk and absorption by infant's gut are highly unlikely. Intravitreal injection: because small doses used and low level observed in the plasma and because neither trace in breast milk nor side-effects in the infant have been reported, treatment is likely safe while breastfeeding. It has advantage over Bevacizumab because it does not inhibit Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) that is present in the breast milk. No harmful effects on infants from treated mothers have been reported.

Answer by DrLact: About Lucentis usage in lactation

Because Lucentis is a large protein molecule with a molecular weight of 48,000, the amount in milk is likely to be very low and absorption is unlikely because it is probably destroyed in the infant's gastrointestinal tract. One infant was breastfed, apparently without noticeable harm, following maternal intravitreal Lucentis injections. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels in breastmilk were not changed following the injection. Because the breast and neonatal intestine have VEGF receptors, some authors recommend use of intravitreal Lucentis over bevacizumab, which does appear to depress milk VEGF levels.[1] Lucentis is a human immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) kappa antibody. Holder pasteurization (62.5 degrees C for 30 minutes) decreases the concentration of endogenous immunoglobulin G by up to 79%.[2][3] A study of 67 colostrum samples that underwent Holder pasteurization found that IgG amounts decreased by 34 to 40%. Specific IgG subclasses decreased by different amounts, with IgG1 activity decreasing by about 37%.[4] None of the studies measured IgG activity.
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