Alefacept Side Effects

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Dec 20, 2023.

Applies to alefacept: intramuscular powder for solution.

Serious side effects of Alefacept

Along with its needed effects, alefacept may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Check with your doctor or nurse immediately if any of the following side effects occur while taking alefacept:

More common

Chills
cough
fever
hoarseness
lower back or side pain
painful or difficult urination

Less common

Body aches or pain
congestion
dryness or soreness of the throat
runny nose
tender, swollen glands in the neck
trouble with swallowing
voice changes

Rare

Arm, back, or jaw pain
chest pain or discomfort
chest tightness or heaviness
fast or irregular heartbeat
nausea
pain or discomfort in the arms, jaw, back, or neck
shortness of breath
sweating
vomiting

Other side effects of Alefacept

Some side effects of alefacept may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects.

Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

More common

Pain, swelling, bleeding, skin rash, or lumps at the injection site

Less common

Difficulty with moving
dizziness
itching skin
joint pain
muscle aching or cramping
muscle pains or stiffness
swollen joints

Rare

Headache

For Healthcare Professionals

Applies to alefacept: intramuscular powder for injection, intravenous powder for injection.

Immunologic

Immunologic side effects including dose-dependent reductions in circulating CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocyte counts have been reported.^[Ref]

Cardiovascular

Cardiovascular side effects including coronary artery disorder (<1%) and myocardial infarction (<1%) have been the adverse reactions which most commonly resulted in clinical intervention.^[Ref]

The total percentage of alefacept-treated patients hospitalized for cardiovascular events was 1.2%.^[Ref]

Oncologic

Twenty five of the 1,357 patients who received alefacept were diagnosed with a total of 35 treatment-emergent malignancies. Six cases were basal cell and seventeen cases were squamous cell cancers of the skin. Three cases of lymphoma have been reported; one was classified as non-Hodgkin's follicle-center cell lymphoma and two were classified as Hodgkin's disease.^[Ref]

Oncologic side effects including malignancies have been reported. Postmarketing reports of malignancies including skin, solid organ, lymphomas and leukemias have also been received.^[Ref]

General

Chills have been reported to occur predominantly with intravenous administration.^[Ref]

General side effects including chills (6%), dizziness, headache, and accidental injury have been reported. Postmarketing reports of sepsis and opportunistic infections (viral, fungal, and bacterial) have been received.^[Ref]

Local

Local side effects including injection site pain and injection site inflammation have been reported.^[Ref]

Gastrointestinal

Gastrointestinal side effects including nausea have been reported. Postmarketing reports of clostridium difficile colitis have been received.^[Ref]

Respiratory

Respiratory side effects including pharyngitis and increased cough have been reported. Postmarketing reports of pharyngitis have also been received.^[Ref]

Dermatologic

Dermatologic side effects including pruritus have been reported. Postmarketing reports of cellulitis have been received.^[Ref]

Musculoskeletal

Musculoskeletal side effects including myalgia have been reported.^[Ref]

Hepatic

Hepatic side effects including postmarketing reports of asymptomatic transaminase elevation, fatty infiltration of the liver, hepatitis, and severe liver failure have been received.