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Bleomycin Injection for Warts

Examples

Generic Name Brand Name
bleomycin Blenoxane

How It Works

Bleomycin is an anticancer medicine used to stop tumor growth.

Why It Is Used

Although nongenital warts are not cancerous, bleomycin injection is sometimes used to kill skin cells, effectively stopping wart growth.

How Well It Works

There is no consistent proof on how effective bleomycin is for warts.

Side Effects

Bleomycin causes pain during and after the injection into a wart. Longer-term side effects include:

  • Scarring.
  • Nail damage.
  • Skin color changes.

See Drug Reference for a full list of side effects. (Drug Reference is not available in all systems.)

What To Think About

Bleomycin is injected into warts that have been resistant to other treatments. It is usually used as a last resort because the injection is painful and expensive.

Bleomycin is considered too toxic to safely treat children or pregnant or breast-feeding women.

Bleomycin should not be used in people with Raynaud's phenomenon or peripheral arterial disease.

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Credits

By Healthwise Staff
Primary Medical Reviewer Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer Alexander H. Murray, MD, FRCPC - Dermatology
Last Revised September 2, 2010

Last Revised: September 2, 2010

Author: Healthwise Staff

Medical Review: Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine & Alexander H. Murray, MD, FRCPC - Dermatology

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