10th August 2011 ????? 0 Comments
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 10 (HealthDay News) ? The breast cancer drug Herceptin
increases the risk of heart problems in elderly patients, especially those
with a history of heart disease and/or diabetes, a new study says.
Researchers analyzed the medical records of 45 women, ages 70 to 92,
who were treated with Herceptin (trastuzumab) since 2005 and found that 12
(26.7 percent) of them developed heart problems caused by the drug.
That rate is slightly higher than what was noted in earlier clinical
trials of younger, healthier women.
In this new study, 33 percent of the women with a history of heart
disease developed either asymptomatic or symptomatic heart problems as a
result of taking Herceptin, compared with 9.1 percent of women without a
history of heart disease.
The researchers also found that about 33 percent of women with diabetes
developed heart problems, compared with 6 percent of diabetes-free
women.
When the women with heart problems stopped taking Herceptin, all but
one recovered fully and five were able to re-start treatment with the
drug.
The study appears in the journal Annals of Oncology.
?This is the first study specifically to assess trastuzumab-related
cardiac toxicity and the cardiovascular factors that are associated with
an increased risk in a selected population of elderly breast cancer
patients,? study author Dr. Cesar Serrano, who conducted the research
while working as a clinical fellow at the Department of Medical Oncology
Breast Cancer Centre at the Vall d?Hebron University Hospital in
Barcelona, Spain, said in a journal news release.
?Trastuzumab is generally well-tolerated and, although there are some
concerns about it causing heart problems, until now few risk factors have
been identified among patients in clinical trials, most of whom are
usually younger than 70 years and have good general health. Our study has
demonstrated a significantly increased incidence of cardiac events among
patients aged 70 and over with cardiovascular risk factors such as a
history of cardiac disease and diabetes,? said Serrano, who is now a
postdoctoral research fellow at Brigham and Women?s Hospital in
Boston.
Serrano said the findings suggest that elderly women with one or more
heart risk factors who are being treated with trastuzumab should be
referred to a cardiologist. He also recommended closer monitoring of such
patients for possible heart problems.
More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about breast cancer treatment.
The rest is here:
Breast Cancer Drug Raises Risk of Heart Problems in Older Women:
Study
(HealthDay)
Tags:? a-journal-news, a-new-study, asymptomatic, cardiovascular, drug, health, herceptin, spain
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