Palifermin (trade name Kepivance, marketed by Biovitrum) is a truncated human recombinant keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) produced in Escherichia coli. KGF stimulates the growth of cells that line the surface of the mouth and intestinal tract. Therapeutic use(s)
When patients with blood cancers (leukemia and lymphoma) receive high dose chemotherapy and radiation therapy to undergo bone marrow transplantation, they usually get severe oral mucositis. Palifermin reduces the incidence and duration of severe oral mucositis by protecting those cells and stimulating the growth of new epithelial cells to build up the mucosal barrier. Palifermin is also being studied in the prevention and treatment of oral mucositis and dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) in other types of cancer. Drug target and mechanism of action
Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) resides in the family of fibroblast growth factor (FGF). The drugs target is the KGF receptor. Through the binding of this drug to the aforementioned receptor, Palifermin stimulates epithelial cell proliferation, differentiation, and upregulation of cytoprotective mechanisms to reduce the symptoms of oral mucositis. Side effects
Common side effects often seen in conjunction with the use of Palifermin include, but are not limited to:

Some of the more serious side effects can be seen below:

Administration
Palifermin is administered via intravenous bolus injection. The drug comes as a lyophilized powder that must be reconstituted with sterile water for injection before it may be administered. It is given for three days before, and three days after chemotherapy is undergone. However, it is important that the drug is not administered within 24 hours of the actual chemotherapy process.
Tarka may refer to:

Tarka, also Chhaunk, in Indian cuisine is a method of seasoning food with spices heated in oil or ghee
Tarka, Nigeria, a Local Government Area in Benue State, Nigeria
Tarka, Niger
Tarka the Otter, a 1927 novel by Henry Williamson
Tarka Line, a railway line in Devon, England
Tarka Trail, a series of footpaths assembled from former railway lines
Tarka (medication), a brand name for an antihypertensive medication
Tarka (flute), also tharqa, a traditional flute of the Andes
David Tarka (born 1983), Australian football player
Taharqa, Nubian pharaoh of the twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt
Tarka (film), a 1988 Kannada language movie
Taarka, an Oregonian quartet
Tarka Cordell (1968–2008), British musician, writer and record producer
Wiesław Tarka (born 1964), Polish diplomat
The Tarka, an alien race in the video game Sword of the Stars

See also
Tarka sastra, an Indian science of dialectics, logic and reasoning