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Cabozantinib Dosage
The amount of cabozantinib your healthcare provider prescribes will be based on how you tolerate the drug, other medications you are taking, and other factors. This drug comes as a capsule that is taken once daily. Cabozantinib dosing instructions usually include an initial amount of 140 mg a day, which can be adjusted as needed.
The dose of cabozantinib (Cometriq™) your healthcare provider recommends will vary, depending on a number of factors, including:
- How you tolerate the medicine
- Other medications you are taking.
As is always the case, do not adjust your dosage unless your healthcare provider specifically tells you to do so.
The usual recommended dose of cabozantinib for the treatment of medullary thyroid cancer (a rare type of thyroid cancer) is 140 mg a day. Treatment normally continues until the cancer progresses or the medication is no longer tolerated because of potentially dangerous or particularly bothersome side effects.
Your healthcare provider may recommend you stop the drug, at least temporarily, if you develop certain cabozantinib side effects. If you are restarted after the side effect improves, you will likely be given a lower dosage.
Doses are usually decreased by 40 mg after each side effect that causes treatment interruption. For example, if you were taking cabozantinib 140 mg a day before developing the side effect, you will be restarted on cabozantinib 100 mg a day. The lowest recommended dose is cabozantinib 60 mg a day.
If you cannot tolerate a 60-mg daily dose, your healthcare provider may recommend you stop cabozantinib treatment altogether. In addition, people who develop certain potentially dangerous side effects, such as a heart attack or stroke, should generally stop the medication and not take it again.
People who take certain other medications may be treated with lower or higher cabozantinib doses (see Drug Interactions With Cabozantinib). The highest recommended dose is 180 mg a day.
This medicine is generally not recommended for use in people with moderate-to-severe liver disease.
Written by/reviewed by: Susan Lakey, PharmD, MPH, BCPP
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD