Tarceva with mouth ulcer - 1258380

Hello lifeng, I'm very sorry your dad is having a difficult time with tarceva. It's possible for symptoms to come and go with tarceva. In fact there have been many reports of such things on the boards here on Grace. First it's very helpful for his doctors and nurses to be informed of the problems since they are the ones closely involved with his care. Depending on the type of stomachaches he has there is quite a few options to help him feel better. If he's having diarrhea then imodium ((loperamide hydrochloride) is a very helpful over the counter drug. For nausea there are also options otc and prescription.

There is an awful lot already written on the subject of symptom management of tarceva including mouth sores. This is what one doctor suggests, " Tarceva can definitely cause mouth sensitivity and tongue burning. It's not common, but does happen. When I see this in patients, I tend to recommend avoiding hot or spicy foods. Baking soda and salt water mouth rinses can help. Some people have found glutamine rinses helpful. Other times we might need to consider reducing the dose of the Tarceva if the side effects are too bad. Sometimes the symptoms can fluctuate just on their own." from http://cancergrace.org/forums/index.php/topic,8116.0.html

This is the link to search results from "mouth ulcers tarceva", http://cancergrace.org/search-results?q=mouth%20ulcers%20tarceva

I hope this helps and don't hesitate to ask for more input,
Janine

It's uncommon but very possible for people to develop mouth ulcers and other gastrointestinal complaints, including nausea and diminished appetite, even taste changes, from Tarceva (erlotinib). Of course, in addition to these symptoms, diarrhea is among the most common side effects.

White spots on the roof of the mouth could be thrush (a common fungal infection in the mouth), but ulcers would be more characteristic of a side effect of Tarceva or some chemo agents. It's likely that the most effective way to manage this would be to take a break from treatment and potentially to drop the dose if/when it is restarted.

Good luck.

-Dr. West