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Thrombosis risk may be raised by cancer drugs
01 Dec 2009
Cancer patients receiving drugs to lower the risk of anaemia may be more likely to develop deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism.
This is according to findings published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, which raised concerns about erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) erythropoietin and darbopoietin, which stimulate red blood cell production in order to limit the number of required blood transfusions during chemotherapy.
Study leader Dr Dawn Hershman said that "important questions" about ESAs have been raised when they are used long-term with oncology patients.
"While ESAs were given to reduce the need for blood transfusions, a substantial reduction in the use of blood transfusions was not observed," she explained.
"However, an increase risk of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism was confirmed."
It was concluded that additional efforts needed to be made at monitoring the long-term toxicity of oncology medications, in order to ensure that any risks are outweighed by the benefits.
According to Thrombosis Adviser, venous thromboembolism, which is both deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, results in 500,000 deaths in Europe every year.
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