Patient Medication Information: uses, side effects, how to take - Yescarta
What is Yescarta used for:
Yescarta is a treatment for your large B-cell lymphoma or follicular lymphoma– two forms of white blood cell cancer.
- For large B-cell lymphomas, it is used when one other kind of treatment has failed, or the cancer has returned after treatment. It is also used to treat large B-cell lymphoma patients who have received multiple types of treatment when the disease didn’t respond or got worse after initially getting better.
- For follicular lymphoma, it is used when at least two other kinds of treatment have failed or the cancer has returned after treatment.
How Yescarta works:
Yescarta is made from your own white blood cells. Some of these cells are taken from your body and then genetically modified to make Yescarta. Yescarta is given to you by drip (infusion) into a vein. Yescarta recognizes and attacks your lymphoma cells.
Serious Warnings and Precautions
Yescarta can cause serious side effects that are life-threatening. Sometimes, these serious side effects that are life-threatening can lead to death. The serious adverse effects of Yescarta include the following:
You will only be given Yescarta by an experienced healthcare professional at specialized treatment centres. |
The ingredients in Yescarta are:
- Medicinal ingredients: axicabtagene ciloleucel
- Non-medicinal ingredients: Cryostor® CS10, human serum albumin, sodium chloride
Yescarta comes in the following dosage forms:
Yescarta comes as a cell suspension in one infusion bag. The entire content of the bag should be given to you by drip into a vein as a single, one-time treatment.
Do not use Yescarta if:
- You are allergic to Yescarta or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (Read “The ingredients in Yescarta are” above).
To help avoid side effects and ensure proper use, talk to your healthcare professional before you take Yescarta. Talk about any health conditions or problems you may have, including if you
- Have a brain tumour or any other types of cancer.
- Have had a stem cell transplant or any other organ transplant in the past.
- Have or have had problems with the heart, blood pressure, lung, liver or kidney.
- Have had blood clots in the body.
- Have any symptoms of CRS (severe systemic inflammation), such as chills, high fever, feeling weak or very tired, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle or joint pain, dizzy, headache, cough, shortness of breath, or fast or irregular heartbeat.
- Have any symptoms of neurologic problems, such as fits, stroke, shaking, difficulty speaking or swallowing, confusion, delirium, memory loss, seizure, loss of balance, loss of consciousness or decreased level of consciousness.
- Have any symptoms of infection, such as fever (100.4°F/38°C), chill, sore throat, coughing, chest pain, stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea.
- Have any symptoms of low red blood cells, such as feeling weak or very tired, and shortness of breath.
- Have any symptoms of low platelets (a type of blood cell), such as bleeding or bruising more easily.
- Had or have hepatitis B or C or HIV (human immunodeficiency virus).
- Had a vaccine in the previous 6 weeks or are planning to have one in the next few months.
- Have any symptoms of severe allergic reactions, such as shortness of breath or trouble breathing, skin rash, swelling of the lips, tongue, or face, chest pain, feeling dizzy or faint.
- Have any symptoms of tumour lysis syndrome, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle cramps or twitches, weakness, numbness or tingling, feeling tired, less urine, irregular heartbeat, confusion, restless, delirium or seizure.
Are pregnant, think you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.
- Are a man and you plan to father a child after Yescarta treatment.
- Are breast-feeding or plan to do so.
Other warnings you should know about:
Do not drive, use heavy machinery, or do other dangerous things for 8 weeks after you get Yescarta because the treatment can cause sleepiness, confusion, weakness, memory and coordination problems.
- Do not donate blood, organs, tissues and cells for transplantation after Yescarta treatment.
- Cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) have been reported following Yescarta use. PML is a rare brain infection that can be fatal. Tell your healthcare professional right away if you notice or someone notices in you: progressive weakness on one side of the body; clumsiness of limbs; disturbance of vision; changes in thinking; memory and orientation; confusion; or personality changes. Your healthcare professional may request further testing if PML is suspected.
Tell your healthcare professional about all the medicines you take, including any drugs, vitamins, minerals, natural supplements or alternative medicines.
The following may interact with Yescarta:
- Corticosteroids, chemotherapy, and other medications that can suppress your immune system: they may make Yescarta less effective.
- Vaccines: Yescarta may make some vaccines less effective. It may not be safe for you to receive a live viral vaccine (a type of vaccine made from weakened virus) during or shortly after Yescarta.
How will I receive Yescarta:
- Since Yescarta is made from your own white blood cells, your blood will be collected by a process called “leukapheresis” (loo-kah-fur-ee-sis), which will remove some of your white blood cells and concentrate them.
- Your blood cells will be sent to a manufacturing centre to make your Yescarta.
- Before you get Yescarta, you will get 3 days of chemotherapy to prepare your body.
- When your Yescarta is ready, your healthcare professional will give it to you through a catheter placed into your vein (intravenous infusion). The treatment usually takes less than 30 minutes.
- Your healthcare professional will recommend that you return to the hospital daily for at least 7 days and will consider whether you need to stay at the hospital as an in‑patient for the first 7 days after infusion. This is so your healthcare professional can help you if you have any side effects.
- You should plan to stay close to hospital as discussed with your healthcare professional for at least 4 weeks after getting Yescarta. You may be hospitalized for side effects and your healthcare professional will discharge you if your side effects are under control, and it is safe for you to leave the hospital.
- Your healthcare professional will give you a Patient Alert Card. Read it carefully and follow the instructions on it.
- Always show the Patient Alert Card to the healthcare professional when you see them or if you go to hospital.
- Your healthcare professional will want to do blood tests to follow your progress. It is important that you do have your blood tested. If you miss an appointment, call your healthcare professional as soon as possible to reschedule.
Usual dose:
Yescarta comes as a cell suspension in one infusion bag. The target dose is 2 × 106 manufactured live T cells (that is CAR T cells) per kg body weight; with a maximum of 2 × 108 CAR T cells (if you weigh 100 kg or higher). The entire content of the bag should be given to you as a single, one-time treatment.
Possible side effects from using Yescarta:
These are not all the possible side effects you may feel when taking Yescarta. If you experience any side effects not listed here, contact your healthcare professional.
Very common:
- Low blood pressure, dizziness
- Headache, difficulty in speaking, agitation, shaking, feeling sick, constipation, diarrhea, pain in the stomach or being sick
- Shortness of breath, cough
- Low levels of antibodies called immunoglobulins, which may lead to infections
- Muscle pains, back pain
- Extreme tiredness
- Dehydration
- Increased levels of liver proteins called transaminases
- Difficulty sleeping
- Loss of interest in activities or feeling depressed
- Stuffy nose
Common:
- Difficulty understanding numbers, memory loss
- Muscle spasms
- Swelling
- Rash
- Itching
Serious side effects and what to do about them
| Frequency/Side-effect/Symptom | Talk to your healthcare professional | Get immediate medical help | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Only if severe | In all cases | ||
| Very common | |||
| High fever, chills, difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain, joint pain, low blood pressure, or dizziness/light headedness (possible symptoms of cytokine release syndrome [CRS]) | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Fits (seizures), shaking, loss/decreased level of consciousness, confusion, loss of balance or coordination, difficulty self-caring, difficulty reading, writing, and understanding (possible symptoms of neurologic problems) | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Seizures lasting 5 minutes or more; or recurrent seizures without recovering between seizures | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Feeling warm, fever, chills or shivering; depending on the location of infection, you may also experience cough, difficulty breathing, painful urine or blood in urine, sore throat, or chest pain (possible symptom of infections) | ✓ | ||
| Weakness, loss of energy, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, pale skin, low level of red blood cells in blood test (possible symptoms of low level of red blood cells) | ✓ | ||
| Spontaneous bleeding or bruising (possible symptoms of low levels of blood platelets or thrombocytopenia) | ✓ | ||
| Common | |||
| Low number of white blood cells in your blood test; you may or may not have an infection at the same time (neutropenia or febrile neutropenia) | ✓ | ||
| Changes in functioning or rhythm of the heart (atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, or ejection fraction decreased) | ✓ | ||
| Breathlessness, difficulty breathing when lying down (possible symptoms of heart failure) | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Loss of consciousness, loss of heartbeat (possible symptoms of cardiac arrest) | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Very little or no urine (possible symptoms of acute kidney injury) | ✓ | ||
| Being anxious, nervous | ✓ | ||
| Dizziness, light headedness caused by low blood pressure (hypotension) | ✓ | ||
| Headache or dizziness caused by high blood pressure (hypertension) | ✓ | ||
| Shortness of breath, fast heartbeat, blue discoloration of lips or extremities (possible symptoms of hypoxia) | ✓ | ||
| Chest pain, cough, shortness of breath, caused by fluid around the lungs (pleural effusion) | ✓ | ||
| Extreme shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, feeling suffocated, anxious, restless, cough, frothy sputum with or without blood, blue colored lips, or fast heartbeat, caused by fluid in the lungs (possible symptoms of pulmonary edema) | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Leakage of fluids from blood vessels into surrounding tissue (capillary leak syndrome) | ✓ | ||
| Feeling very tired (somnolence) | ✓ | ||
| State of severe confusion (delirium) | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Extreme activation of the immune system with fever, rash and injury to liver, blood cells and brain (histocytosis hematophagic) | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Spontaneous or prolonged and excessive bleeding (coagulopathy) | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Blood clots that lower blood flow (thrombosis) | ✓ | ||
| Reduced level of sodium in the blood, sometimes leading to nausea, headache, drowsiness, restlessness, irritability muscle weakness and cramps (hyponatremia) | ✓ | ||
| Reduced level of phosphate in the blood, sometime leading to muscle weakness (hypophosphatemia) | ✓ | ||
| Reduced levels of potassium in the blood, possibly leading to muscle weakness, muscle spasms, abnormal heart rhythm (hypokalemia) | ✓ | ||
| Nausea, vomiting, fast breathing, and lethargy caused by high levels of acid in the blood (metabolic acidosis) | ✓ | ||
| Difficulty to swallow (dysphagia) | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Uncommon | |||
| Dizziness, extreme weakness, fast heart beat, and cold or clammy skin that can result from internal bleeding, which can be severe, called a ‘hemorrhage’ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Severe headache with nausea and dizziness, slurred speech, loss of balance, seizures, confusion, or extreme sleepiness that may be related to swelling in your brain (cerebral edema) | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Rare | |||
| Symptoms of new cancer including new lymphoma or leukemia from a type of white blood cells called T-cells. If you have T-cell leukemia this might include symptoms of fever, feeling weak, bleeding gums, bruising. If you have T-cell lymphoma, this might include symptoms of unexplained fever, feeling weak, night sweats, sudden weight loss. | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Inflammation and swelling of spinal cord which may cause partial or total paralysis of limbs and torso (myelitis, spinal cord edema and quadriplegia) | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Progressive weakness on one side of the body, clumsiness of limbs, disturbance of vision, changes in thinking, memory and orientation, confusion, personality changes (Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy [PML]) | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Fever, chills, shivering, nausea, vomiting, tiredness, dizziness, pain where the infusion needle is inserted, blisters, itching, and/or shortness of breath or wheezing during or shortly after infusion (possible infusion-related reaction) | ✓ | ✓ | |
If you have a troublesome symptom or side effect that is not listed here or becomes bad enough to interfere with your daily activities, talk to your healthcare professional.
Reporting Side Effects
You can report any suspected side effects associated with the use of health products to Health Canada by:
NOTE: Contact your healthcare professional if you need information about how to manage your side effects. The Canada Vigilance Program does not provide medical advice. |
If you want more information about Yescarta:
- Talk to your healthcare professional
- Find the full product monograph that is prepared for healthcare professionals and includes the Patient Medication Information by visiting the Health Canada Drug Product Database website: (https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/drug-products/drug-product-database.html); the manufacturer’s website www.gilead.ca, or by calling 1-866-207-4267.
Date of Authorization: 2026-09-24
Kite Pharma, Inc.
Santa Monica, CA 90404
USA
Manufactured for:
Gilead Sciences Canada, Inc.
Mississauga, ON L5N 7K2
Yescarta® is a trademark of Kite Pharma, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Gilead Sciences, Inc.
All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.
© 2026 Kite Pharma Inc.
e214145-GS-013