tagrisso FAQ

Certain foods can interact with certain medications. However, this isn’t the case with Tagrisso. There aren’t any foods you need to avoid while taking Tagrisso. For more information, see the “Tagrisso interactions” section below. If you’re concerned about the foods you eat while taking Tagrisso, talk with your doctor.

You may wonder how you’ll know when Tagrisso is working. The drug starts working soon after you take your first dose, but you might not notice it working. So throughout treatment, your doctor will order various tests to check that Tagrisso is working for you. There are no known interactions between Tagrisso and alcohol. And drinking alcohol isn’t expected to affect the way Tagrisso works. However, alcohol might increase certain side effects that you may have with Tagrisso. Examples of these include nausea, diarrhea, and dizziness. And if you have a sore mouth with Tagrisso, drinking alcohol may be painful. (For more information on side effects, see “Tagrisso side effects” above.) If you drink alcohol, talk with your doctor about how much, if any, is safe for you to drink while you take Tagrisso. Tagrisso is a targeted therapy for certain types* of non-small cell lung cancer with epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR-positive NSCLC). Targeted therapies are drugs that block specific proteins that help the cancer cells grow and spread. Tagrisso targets and blocks certain abnormal EGFR proteins. (To learn more, see “How Tagrisso works” above.) Other drugs are available that can treat EGFR-positive NSCLC. Some may be a better fit for you than others. If you’re interested in finding an alternative to Tagrisso, talk with your doctor. They can tell you about other medications that may work well for you. Note: Some of the drugs listed here are prescribed off-label to treat these specific conditions. Off-label drug use is when a drug that’s approved by the Food and Drug Administration is prescribed for a purpose other than what it’s approved for. * For more detail about the conditions that Tagrisso is approved to treat, see “Tagrisso uses” above.