Also known as 27-400, Ciclosporin, CsA, CyA, Cyclosporin, Cyclosporin A, Cyclosporine, Gengraf, Neoral, OL 27-400, Sandimmun, Sandimmune, SangCya
A natural cyclic polypeptide immunosuppressant isolated from the fungus Beauveria nivea. The exact mechanism of action of cyclosporine is not known but may involve binding to the cellular protein cytophilin, resulting in inhibition of the enzyme calcineurin. This agent appears to specifically and reversibly inhibit immunocompetent lymphocytes in the G0-or G1-phase of the cell cycle. T-lymphocytes are preferentially inhibited with T-helper cells as the primary target. Cyclosporine also inhibits lymphokine production and release. (NCI04)
Originator: NCI Thesaurus | Source: The website of the National Cancer Institute (http://www.cancer.gov)
Can I take Cyclosporine while breastfeeding?
Cyclosporine concentration in milk is variable. With typical maternal cyclosporine blood levels, a completely breastfed infant would usually receive no more than about 2% of the mother’s weight-adjusted dosage or pediatric transplantation maintenance dosage, and often less than 1%. Most infants studied have not had detectable cyclosporine blood levels, but 2 infants have had measurable levels, 1 with blood levels in the therapeutic range despite relatively low maternal milk levels.
Numerous infants have been breastfed during maternal cyclosporine use, usually with a concurrent corticosteroid and sometimes with concurrent azathioprine. At least 2 mothers successfully breastfed a second infant after successfully breastfeeding the first infant. No reports of adverse effects on infants growth, development or kidney function have been reported, although thorough follow-up examinations have not always been performed or reported. Some reviewers believe breastfeeding should be discouraged during cyclosporine use, but these opinions appear to be based on limited, early data.[1][2] European experts, the National Transplantation Pregnancy Registry and other experts consider cyclosporine to be probably safe to use for inflammatory bowel disease during breastfeeding.[3][4][5][6][7] Breastfed infants should be monitored if this drug is used during lactation, possibly including measurement of serum levels to rule out toxicity if there is a concern.
Because absorption from the eye is limited, ophthalmic cyclosporine would not be expected to cause any adverse effects in breastfed infants. To substantially diminish the amount of drug that reaches the breastmilk after using eye drops, place pressure over the tear duct by the corner of the eye for 1 minute or more, then remove the excess solution with an absorbent tissue.
Drug levels
Maternal Levels. Early reports measured cyclosporine in breastmilk unsystematically. Cyclosporine levels of 101, 109 and 263 mcg/L were detected in random samples of breastmilk on days 2, 3 and 4 postpartum from a woman taking 450 mg daily orally.[8] In one woman, a single milk concentration of 16 mcg/L was measured 22 hours after an oral dose of 325 mg given 2 hours before the onset of labor.[9] One mother’s cyclosporine milk concentration averaged about 17% (range 12 to 22%) of simultaneous serum levels.[10] In another mother, milk cyclosporine levels ranged from 15 to 90% higher than simultaneous serum levels. However, the authors estimated that a breastfed infant would receive less than 5% of an immunosuppressive dose.[11] One breastfed infant was estimated to have a daily cyclosporine intake of 6 mcg/kg daily during maternal use of 225 mg daily of cyclosporine.[12]
A case series of 3 mothers found the following cyclosporine levels in colostrum. The first mother was receiving 200 mg every 12 hours and had a colostrum level of 418 mcg/L 12 hours her last predelivery dose. The second mother was taking 150 mg every 12 hours and had a mean of 99 mcg/L (range 36 to 209 mcg/L) in 5 colostrum samples taken 3 to 5 days after delivery; The third mother was taking a dose of 125 mg every 12 hours and had levels of 45 to 83 mcg/L in 7 colostrum samples taken during the first 4 days postpartum; milk levels were 105 to 203 mcg/L in samples taken during days 6 to 10 postpartum.[13]
A mother taking 3 mg/kg twice daily with a blood trough cyclosporine blood level of 260 mcg/L had average milk levels of 596 mcg/L 5 weeks postpartum with milk levels varying with the time after the dose. The authors estimated that a fully breastfed infant would receive less than 0.1 mg/kg daily or less than 1.7% of the maternal weight-adjusted dosage.[14]
Five mothers taking cyclosporine in unspecified dosages had random milk levels ranging from 50 to 227 mcg/L in the immediate postpartum period. Two of these women collected several milk samples over the course of a day. A mother with a trough cyclosporine blood level of 62 mcg/L had milk levels ranging from 25 to 120 mcg/L. The other mother with a trough blood level of 110 mcg/L had milk levels ranging from 87 to 440 mcg/L. The authors estimated that a fully breastfed infant would receive less than 300 mcg of cyclosporine daily.[15]
One mother taking cyclosporine 300 mg twice daily had serum levels of 123 to 273 mcg/L and milk levels ranging from 79 to 286 mcg/L on 3 occasions over a 10-week period.[16]
Variable milk levels of cyclosporine were noted in a case series of 5 mother-infant pairs. Individual average milk cyclosporine levels varied from 98 to 118 mcg/L (range 45 to 203 mcg/L) in 3 of the mothers. A fourth mother taking a dose of 5.3 mg/kg daily of Neoral had mean foremilk levels of 465 mcg/L and hindmilk levels of 564 mcg/L (minimum foremilk 158 mcg/L, maximum hindmilk 1016 mcg/L). Estimated intake for the 5 infants averaged 0.86% (range from 0.2 to 2.1%) of the maternal weight-adjusted dosage. In 3 of the infants, average intake was 0.05 mcg/kg daily or about 1% of the pediatric maintenance dosage.[17]
A woman was taking oral cyclosporine 100 mg in the morning and 75 mg in the evening (2.1 mg/kg daily) during pregnancy and lactation. She was also taking azathioprine 75 mg and prednisone 10 mg daily. A milk sample was obtained 2 hours after the mother’s morning dose. The breastmilk cyclosporine concentration was 46 mcg/L.[18]
A woman was taking cyclosporine for severe psoriasis during late pregnancy and while nursing. While taking a dose of 200 mg daily (apparently 100 mg twice daily), she collected milk samples 2 hours after her morning dose on 3 occasions. Milk cyclosporine levels were 128 mcg/L on day 10, 200 mcg/L on day 30, and 364 mcg/L on day 50. On day 40, the milk cyclosporine concentration before her morning dose was 207 mcg/L.[19]
A woman was receiving cyclosporine 1.5 mg/kg daily and everolimus 2 mg/kg daily during pregnancy and postpartum following a heart transplant. A colostrum sample was obtained one day postpartum which contained a cyclosporine level of 15.5 mcg/L. The timing of the sample with respect to the previous cyclosporine dose was not stated.[20]
Infant Levels. In 7 mothers who breastfed their infants during cyclosporine use (dosages not stated), infant serum cyclosporine levels were undetectable (<30 mcg/L).[15] Another exclusively breastfed infant reportedly had undetectable serum cyclosporine levels (<25 mcg/L) with a maternal dose of 300 mg twice daily of the microemulsion.[16] A partially breastfed infant whose mother was taking 125 mg twice daily had cyclosporine blood levels of 18 to 21 mcg/L during the first 21 days of life.[13] Another mother taking cyclosporine 3 mg/kg twice daily exclusively breastfed her daughter who had undetectable (<3 mcg/L) cyclosporine blood levels.[10] Among 4 infants in whom blood levels were measured, 3 had undetectable levels, but the fourth had "therapeutic" blood levels of 117 and 131 mcg/L on 2 occasions even though the infant's estimated dosage was only 1.1% of maternal weight-adjusted dosage.[17] A 6-day-old infant who was about 50% breastfed had an undetectable (<10 mcg/L) cyclosporine whole blood concentration. The infant's mother was taking oral cyclosporine 100 mg in the morning and 75 mg in the evening (2.1 mg/kg daily) during pregnancy and lactation. The authors estimated that the cyclosporine dose this infant would receive if it were fully breastfed was 0.007 mg/kg or 0.33% of the weight-adjusted maternal dose.[18] Two cases were reported of infants whose mothers were taking cyclosporine and breastfeeding. One mother was taking cyclosporine 200 mg daily as well as azathioprine, prednisone, diltiazem and folate. She exclusively breastfed her infant and at 1 week postpartum the infant’s serum had undetectable (<15 mcg/L) cyclosporine levels while the mother's serum contained 68 mcg/L. The second mother was taking cyclosporine 120 mg daily as well as methyldopa, prednisone, and calcitriol. She exclusively breastfed her infant and at 2 weeks postpartum the infant's serum had undetectable (<15 mcg/L) cyclosporine levels while the mother's serum contained 39 mcg/L.[21] A woman with severe ulcerative colitis during pregnancy received cyclosporine 5 mg/kg daily from 26 weeks of pregnancy and continued while breastfeeding. She extensive breastfed her infant and the infant’s serum cyclosporine concentrations after the morning feed were consistently undetectable (<30 mcg/L).[22] An infant whose mother took cyclosporine 200 mg daily for severe psoriasis during late pregnancy and while nursing. The infant was exclusively breastfed for 6 months. The infant’s cyclosporine blood levels were 30 mcg/L on day 10 at 2 hours after the maternal dose, and undetectable (<25 mcg/L) on days 30, 40 and 50. The authors hypothesized that the level reported on day 10 derived from cyclosporine in the infant's adipose tissue, received during pregnancy.[19] In summary, reported milk cyclosporine levels vary considerably in several case reports and series. This variability seems to be partially due to inconsistent sampling times among the reports and probably related to the fat content of the milk at the time of sampling. In one patient, cyclosporine levels averaged 21% higher in the high-fat hindmilk than in the low-fat foremilk.[17] In another patient, milk levels increased from the first few days of colostrum to the later mature milk phase. Estimations of the total amounts of drug in milk received by the infant are less than 5% of the maternal weight-adjusted dose, and as low as 0.01% in some infants. This translates to less than 2% of the pediatric transplantation maintenance dosage of cyclosporine in most infants. In most breastfed infants, cyclosporine is not detectable in blood; however, occasionally infants have had detectable blood levels, even when milk levels and infant dosage were apparently low.[9][13][17]
Effects in breastfed infants
Maternal Levels. Early reports measured cyclosporine in breastmilk unsystematically. Cyclosporine levels of 101, 109 and 263 mcg/L were detected in random samples of breastmilk on days 2, 3 and 4 postpartum from a woman taking 450 mg daily orally.[8] In one woman, a single milk concentration of 16 mcg/L was measured 22 hours after an oral dose of 325 mg given 2 hours before the onset of labor.[9] One mother’s cyclosporine milk concentration averaged about 17% (range 12 to 22%) of simultaneous serum levels.[10] In another mother, milk cyclosporine levels ranged from 15 to 90% higher than simultaneous serum levels. However, the authors estimated that a breastfed infant would receive less than 5% of an immunosuppressive dose.[11] One breastfed infant was estimated to have a daily cyclosporine intake of 6 mcg/kg daily during maternal use of 225 mg daily of cyclosporine.[12]
A case series of 3 mothers found the following cyclosporine levels in colostrum. The first mother was receiving 200 mg every 12 hours and had a colostrum level of 418 mcg/L 12 hours her last predelivery dose. The second mother was taking 150 mg every 12 hours and had a mean of 99 mcg/L (range 36 to 209 mcg/L) in 5 colostrum samples taken 3 to 5 days after delivery; The third mother was taking a dose of 125 mg every 12 hours and had levels of 45 to 83 mcg/L in 7 colostrum samples taken during the first 4 days postpartum; milk levels were 105 to 203 mcg/L in samples taken during days 6 to 10 postpartum.[13]
A mother taking 3 mg/kg twice daily with a blood trough cyclosporine blood level of 260 mcg/L had average milk levels of 596 mcg/L 5 weeks postpartum with milk levels varying with the time after the dose. The authors estimated that a fully breastfed infant would receive less than 0.1 mg/kg daily or less than 1.7% of the maternal weight-adjusted dosage.[14]
Five mothers taking cyclosporine in unspecified dosages had random milk levels ranging from 50 to 227 mcg/L in the immediate postpartum period. Two of these women collected several milk samples over the course of a day. A mother with a trough cyclosporine blood level of 62 mcg/L had milk levels ranging from 25 to 120 mcg/L. The other mother with a trough blood level of 110 mcg/L had milk levels ranging from 87 to 440 mcg/L. The authors estimated that a fully breastfed infant would receive less than 300 mcg of cyclosporine daily.[15]
One mother taking cyclosporine 300 mg twice daily had serum levels of 123 to 273 mcg/L and milk levels ranging from 79 to 286 mcg/L on 3 occasions over a 10-week period.[16]
Variable milk levels of cyclosporine were noted in a case series of 5 mother-infant pairs. Individual average milk cyclosporine levels varied from 98 to 118 mcg/L (range 45 to 203 mcg/L) in 3 of the mothers. A fourth mother taking a dose of 5.3 mg/kg daily of Neoral had mean foremilk levels of 465 mcg/L and hindmilk levels of 564 mcg/L (minimum foremilk 158 mcg/L, maximum hindmilk 1016 mcg/L). Estimated intake for the 5 infants averaged 0.86% (range from 0.2 to 2.1%) of the maternal weight-adjusted dosage. In 3 of the infants, average intake was 0.05 mcg/kg daily or about 1% of the pediatric maintenance dosage.[17]
A woman was taking oral cyclosporine 100 mg in the morning and 75 mg in the evening (2.1 mg/kg daily) during pregnancy and lactation. She was also taking azathioprine 75 mg and prednisone 10 mg daily. A milk sample was obtained 2 hours after the mother’s morning dose. The breastmilk cyclosporine concentration was 46 mcg/L.[18]
A woman was taking cyclosporine for severe psoriasis during late pregnancy and while nursing. While taking a dose of 200 mg daily (apparently 100 mg twice daily), she collected milk samples 2 hours after her morning dose on 3 occasions. Milk cyclosporine levels were 128 mcg/L on day 10, 200 mcg/L on day 30, and 364 mcg/L on day 50. On day 40, the milk cyclosporine concentration before her morning dose was 207 mcg/L.[19]
A woman was receiving cyclosporine 1.5 mg/kg daily and everolimus 2 mg/kg daily during pregnancy and postpartum following a heart transplant. A colostrum sample was obtained one day postpartum which contained a cyclosporine level of 15.5 mcg/L. The timing of the sample with respect to the previous cyclosporine dose was not stated.[20]
Infant Levels. In 7 mothers who breastfed their infants during cyclosporine use (dosages not stated), infant serum cyclosporine levels were undetectable (<30 mcg/L).[15] Another exclusively breastfed infant reportedly had undetectable serum cyclosporine levels (<25 mcg/L) with a maternal dose of 300 mg twice daily of the microemulsion.[16] A partially breastfed infant whose mother was taking 125 mg twice daily had cyclosporine blood levels of 18 to 21 mcg/L during the first 21 days of life.[13] Another mother taking cyclosporine 3 mg/kg twice daily exclusively breastfed her daughter who had undetectable (<3 mcg/L) cyclosporine blood levels.[10] Among 4 infants in whom blood levels were measured, 3 had undetectable levels, but the fourth had "therapeutic" blood levels of 117 and 131 mcg/L on 2 occasions even though the infant's estimated dosage was only 1.1% of maternal weight-adjusted dosage.[17] A 6-day-old infant who was about 50% breastfed had an undetectable (<10 mcg/L) cyclosporine whole blood concentration. The infant's mother was taking oral cyclosporine 100 mg in the morning and 75 mg in the evening (2.1 mg/kg daily) during pregnancy and lactation. The authors estimated that the cyclosporine dose this infant would receive if it were fully breastfed was 0.007 mg/kg or 0.33% of the weight-adjusted maternal dose.[18] Two cases were reported of infants whose mothers were taking cyclosporine and breastfeeding. One mother was taking cyclosporine 200 mg daily as well as azathioprine, prednisone, diltiazem and folate. She exclusively breastfed her infant and at 1 week postpartum the infant’s serum had undetectable (<15 mcg/L) cyclosporine levels while the mother's serum contained 68 mcg/L. The second mother was taking cyclosporine 120 mg daily as well as methyldopa, prednisone, and calcitriol. She exclusively breastfed her infant and at 2 weeks postpartum the infant's serum had undetectable (<15 mcg/L) cyclosporine levels while the mother's serum contained 39 mcg/L.[21] A woman with severe ulcerative colitis during pregnancy received cyclosporine 5 mg/kg daily from 26 weeks of pregnancy and continued while breastfeeding. She extensive breastfed her infant and the infant’s serum cyclosporine concentrations after the morning feed were consistently undetectable (<30 mcg/L).[22] An infant whose mother took cyclosporine 200 mg daily for severe psoriasis during late pregnancy and while nursing. The infant was exclusively breastfed for 6 months. The infant’s cyclosporine blood levels were 30 mcg/L on day 10 at 2 hours after the maternal dose, and undetectable (<25 mcg/L) on days 30, 40 and 50. The authors hypothesized that the level reported on day 10 derived from cyclosporine in the infant's adipose tissue, received during pregnancy.[19] In summary, reported milk cyclosporine levels vary considerably in several case reports and series. This variability seems to be partially due to inconsistent sampling times among the reports and probably related to the fat content of the milk at the time of sampling. In one patient, cyclosporine levels averaged 21% higher in the high-fat hindmilk than in the low-fat foremilk.[17] In another patient, milk levels increased from the first few days of colostrum to the later mature milk phase. Estimations of the total amounts of drug in milk received by the infant are less than 5% of the maternal weight-adjusted dose, and as low as 0.01% in some infants. This translates to less than 2% of the pediatric transplantation maintenance dosage of cyclosporine in most infants. In most breastfed infants, cyclosporine is not detectable in blood; however, occasionally infants have had detectable blood levels, even when milk levels and infant dosage were apparently low.[9][13][17]
Possible effects on lactation
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Alternate drugs to consider
Azathioprine, Tacrolimus
References
1. Ramsey-Goldman R, Schilling E. Optimum use of disease-modifying and immunosuppressive antirheumatic agents during pregnancy and lactation. Clin Immunother. 1996;5:40-58.
2. Janssen NM, Genta MS. The effects of immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory medications on fertility, pregnancy and lactation. Arch Intern Med. 2000;160:610-9. PMID: 10724046
3. van der Woude CJ, Kolacek S, Dotan I et al. European evidenced-based consensus on reproduction in inflammatory bowel disease. J Crohn’s Colitis. 2010;4:493-510. PMID: 21122553
4. Thiagarajan KM, Arakali SR, Mealey KJ et al. Safety considerations: breastfeeding after transplant. Prog Transplant. 2013;23:137-46. PMID: 23782661
5. Constantinescu S, Pai A, Coscia LA et al. Breast-feeding after transplantation. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2014;28:1163-73. PMID: 25271063
6. Flint J, Panchal S, Hurrell A et al. BSR and BHPR guideline on prescribing drugs in pregnancy and breastfeeding-Part I: standard and biologic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and corticosteroids. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2016. PMID: 26750124
7. Gotestam Skorpen C, Hoeltzenbein M, Tincani A et al. The EULAR points to consider for use of antirheumatic drugs before pregnancy, and during pregnancy and lactation. Ann Rheum Dis. 2016;75:795-810. PMID: 26888948
8. Lewis GJ, Lamont CAR, Lee HA et al. Successful pregnancy in a renal transplant recipient taking cyclosporin A. Br Med J. 83;286:603. Letter.
9. Flechner SM, Katz AR, Rogers AJ et al. The presence of cyclosporine in body tissues and fluids during pregnancy. Am J Kidney Dis. 1985;5:60-3. PMID: 3155592
10. Ziegenhagen DJ, Crombach G, Dieckmann M et al. [Pregnancy during cyclosporin medication following a kidney transplant]. Dtsch Med Wochenschr. 88;113:260-3. PMID: 3277831
11. Behrens O, Kohlhaw K, Gunter H et al. [Detection of cyclosporin A in breast milk–is breast feeding contraindicated?] Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd. 1989;49:207-9. PMID: 2649410
12. Moretti ME, Ito S, Koren G. Therapeutic drug monitoring in the lactating patient. Reprod Toxicol. 95;9(6):580-1. Abstract.
13. Madill JE, Levy G, Greig P. Pregnancy and breast-feeding while receiving cyclosporine A. In: Williams BAH S-GD, eds. Trends in organ transplantation. New York: Springer Publishing Company, 1996:109-21.
14. Thiru Y, Bateman DN, Coulthard MG. Successful breast feeding while mother was taking cyclosporin. BMJ. 1997;315:463. PMID: 9284666
15. Nyberg G, Haljamae U, Frisenette-Fich C et al. Breast-feeding during treatment with cyclosporine. Transplantation. 1998;65:253-5. PMID: 9458024
16. Munoz-Flores-Thiagarajan KD, Easterling T, Davis C et al. Breast-feeding by a cyclosporine-treated mother. Obstet Gynecol. 2001;97(5 pt 2):816-8. PMID: 11336764
17. Moretti ME, Sgro M, Johnson DW et al. Cyclosporine excretion into breast milk. Transplantation. 2003;75:2144-6. PMID: 12829927
18. Osadchy A, Koren G. Cyclosporine and lactation: when the mother is willing to breastfeed. Ther Drug Monit. 2011;33:147-8. PMID: 21240055
19. Mazzuoccolo LD, Andrada R, Pellerano G et al. Levels of cyclosporine in breast milk and passage into the circulation of the infant of a mother with psoriasis. Int J Dermatol. 2014;53:355-6. PMID: 23336105
20. Fiocchi R, D’Elia E, Vittori C et al. First report of a successful pregnancy in an everolimus-treated heart-transplanted patient: Neonatal disappearance of immunosuppressive drugs. Am J Transplant. 2016;16:1319-22. PMID: 26555407
21. Morton A. Cyclosporine and lactation. Nephrology (Carlton). 2011;16:249. PMID: 21272141
22. Lahiff C, Moss AC. Cyclosporine in the management of severe ulcerative colitis while breast-feeding. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2011;17:E78. PMID: 21538721
Last Revision Date
20160426
Disclaimer:Information presented in this database is not meant as a substitute for professional judgment. You should consult your healthcare provider for breastfeeding advice related to your particular situation. The U.S. government does not warrant or assume any liability or responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the information on this Site.
Source: LactMed – National Library of Medicine (NLM)