Alimta Dosage

Alimta Chemotherapy Information

An Introduction to Dosing With Alimta

The dose of Alimta^® (pemetrexed) your healthcare provider recommends will vary, depending on a number of factors, including:

Your body surface area, which is calculated using your height and weight
How you respond to this medication, especially if you develop any serious side effects.

As is always the case, do not adjust your dosage unless your healthcare provider specifically instructs you to do so.

Alimta Dosages for Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma

The recommended starting dose of Alimta for treating non-squamous, non-small-cell lung cancer or malignant pleural mesothelioma is 500 mg/m² given by IV over 10 minutes, usually once every 21 days.

The "500 mg/m²" dosage might look a little odd to people unaccustomed to chemotherapy medication dosing; it basically means that 500 mg of Alimta is given for every square meter of body surface area. Your healthcare provider will calculate your body surface area using your height and weight.

If you do not tolerate Alimta well, your healthcare provider may need to lower the dosage, or perhaps even delay your next treatment.

General Information on Your Dose of Alimta

Some considerations to keep in mind when taking Alimta include the following:

Alimta comes as an injection. It is injected slowly (infused) into a vein. Each infusion takes about 10 minutes. In most cases, you will receive one infusion every 21 days.
You must take folic acid (as recommended by your healthcare provider) for at least 5 out of the 7 days before your Alimta infusion and continue until at least 21 days after your last dose.
You must also receive vitamin B₁₂ injections while taking this medication. You should get your first B₁₂ injection during the week before your first Alimta infusion and then once after every three dosages of Alimta (usually about once every nine weeks for most people).
Your healthcare provider may choose to give you a corticosteroid medication, such as dexamethasone, to help prevent skin rashes due to Alimta. In most cases, the steroid is taken the day before, the day of, and the day after the infusion.
If you are unsure about anything related to your dosage or Alimta dosing in general, please talk with your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist.