Asparaginase Erwinia chrysanthemi (Erwinaze)

General information

Class/mechanism: Depletes plasma asparagine by catalyzing the deamidation of asparagine to aspartic acid and ammonia, selectively killing leukemic cells which are unable to synthesize asparagine due to a lack of asparagine synthetase.
Route: IM
Extravasation: n/a

For conciseness and simplicity, HemOnc.org currently will focus on treatment regimens and not list information such as: renal/hepatic dose adjustments, metabolism (including CYP450), excretion, monitoring parameters (although this will be considered for checklists), or manufacturer. Instead, for the most current information, please refer to your preferred pharmacopeias such as Micromedex, Lexicomp, Medscape, UpToDate (courtesy of Lexicomp), or the prescribing information.

Diseases for which it is used

• B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia
• Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type
• NK/T-cell lymphoma
• T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Patient drug information

• Asparaginase patient drug information (Chemocare) — this is for Asparaginase (Elspar), not Erwinaze
• Brief patient counseling information can be found on the bottom of page 2 of the package insert
• Asparaginase Erwinia chrysanthemi (Erwinaze) patient drug information (UpToDate)

History of changes in FDA indication

• 11/18/2011: Initial FDA approval "as a component of a multi-agent chemotherapeutic regimen for the treatment of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who have developed hypersensitivity to E. coli-derived asparaginase.

Also known as

• Generic names: crisantaspasum, crisantaspase, Erwinia L-asparginase, krisantaspaasi, krisantaspas
• Brand names: Erwinase, Erwinaze