Key takeaways

  • Yescarta is a one-time intravenous (IV) infusion used to treat specific types of B-cell lymphoma when other treatments haven’t worked or cancer has returned.
  • The Yescarta dosage for B-cell lymphoma is tailored to you. The treatment involves modifying your immune cells to target cancer cells, with the dosage based on body weight.
  • You’ll receive Yescarta in a hospital, where your care team can monitor and treat any side effects.

Yescarta comes as a cell suspension (a liquid mixture of cells) given as an IV infusion. It’s used in adults to treat subtypes of B-cell lymphoma, including follicular lymphoma and large B-cell lymphoma. Doctors only prescribe Yescarta in certain situations.

The active ingredient in Yescarta is axicabtagene ciloleucel. Yescarta is a biologic drug. It belongs to a group of drugs called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies.

This article describes the dosages of Yescarta and how it’s given. To learn more about Yescarta, including details about its uses, see this in-depth article.

This section describes the usual dosage of Yescarta.

Yescarta form

Yescarta is a cell suspension (a liquid mixture of cells) that’s given by a healthcare professional as an IV infusion (an injection into your vein over a period of time).

The suspension is made using white blood cells from your own immune system. Each Yescarta infusion bag is made specifically for the person receiving the medication. To learn more, visit the drugmaker’s website.

Yescarta strength

The strength of Yescarta is unique to each person receiving it, and is expressed as the number of cells per kilogram (kg) of body weight in about 68 milliliters (mL) of suspension.

Yescarta is approved to treat follicular lymphoma and large B-cell lymphoma.

Dosage for follicular lymphoma

The Yescarta dosage for follicular lymphoma is tailored to you. It’s made using your own immune cells and is based on your body weight in kg. For reference, 1 kg is about 2.2 pounds (lb). You’ll receive a one-time IV infusion of Yescarta.

After a blood draw, a lab will modify your T cells (a type of immune cell) to treat the cancer and send them back for infusion. The target T-cell range is 2 million to 200 million per kg of body weight.

If you have questions about your dosage, talk with your doctor to learn more.

Dosage for large B-cell lymphoma

The Yescarta dosage for large B-cell lymphoma is the same as the dosage for follicular lymphoma. For details, see “Dosage for follicular lymphoma” just above.

To learn more about your dosage, talk with your doctor.

Yescarta is given as a one-time IV infusion over about 30 minutes, typically at a hospital.

Before the infusion

Starting 5 days before your Yescarta dose, you’ll receive doses of the chemotherapy medications cyclophosphamide and fludarabine. You’ll also receive additional doses of these two drugs 4 days and 3 days before your Yescarta dose. These chemotherapy infusions help prepare your body for the Yescarta infusion.

About 1 hour before your dose of Yescarta, you’ll receive doses of diphenhydramine (Benadryl) and acetaminophen (Tylenol). These medications can help lower your risk of side effects from the Yescarta infusion.

After the infusion

After your Yescarta infusion, you’ll need to stay at the hospital for at least 7 days. This allows your doctor to monitor you for side effects.

For at least 2 weeks after receiving Yescarta, you’ll need to stay close to your treatment center. You’ll also need to avoid driving for at least 2 weeks following the infusion.

If you have questions about what to expect with your Yescarta infusion, talk with your doctor. Yescarta’s drugmaker also has a video and step-by-step instructions about the infusion process.

Here are answers to some commonly asked questions about Yescarta’s dosage.

Is Yescarta’s dosage similar to the dosage of Kymriah?

Yes, it is. The forms and uses of each drug are similar as well. Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) and Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) are biologic drugs. Also, both belong to the CAR T-cell therapies group of medications.

Both drugs treat types of large B-cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma in adults, but they have different active ingredients. (An active ingredient is what makes a drug work in your body.)

Doses of Yescarta and Kymriah differ, but both are tailored to the person receiving the drug. These doses use the person’s own immune cells.

Your doctor will prescribe the drug and the dosage that’s right for you. To learn more about how these drugs compare, talk with your doctor.

How long does it take for Yescarta to start working?

Yescarta starts to work after you receive your infusion. But it may take several weeks for your symptoms to lessen. Your doctor will monitor you during treatment to check whether the drug is working for your condition.

If you have other questions about what to expect from your Yescarta treatment, talk with your doctor.

The earlier sections describe the usual dosages provided by Yescarta’s drugmaker. If your doctor recommends this drug, they’ll prescribe the dosage that’s right for you.

Talk with your doctor if you have questions or concerns about your dosage.

Here are some examples of questions you may want to ask your doctor:

  • If my dose of Yescarta doesn’t work, will I need a second dose?
  • Will Yescarta still work for me if I receive only a partial dose?
  • How does the dose of Yescarta compare with that of Rituxan (rituximab)?

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Disclaimer: Healthline has made every effort to make certain that all information is factually correct, comprehensive, and up to date. However, this article should not be used as a substitute for the knowledge and expertise of a licensed healthcare professional. You should always consult your doctor or another healthcare professional before taking any medication. The drug information contained herein is subject to change and is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. The absence of warnings or other information for a given drug does not indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective, or appropriate for all patients or all specific uses.