What is the mechanism that causes cancer drug Avastin to raise the blood clot risk?
Treating cancer patients with the cancer drug Avastin in conjunction with chemotherapy boosts their risk of blood clots in arteries compared to giving chemotherapy alone, a new study finds. The risk of blood clots in veins was not increased with the combination therapy, said researchers in the Aug. 7 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. “The events in this study have been characterized in the Avastin label, which already includes a warning about the potential risk for arterial thrombosis [blood clots in the arteries],” noted Edward Lang, a spokesman for Genentech, which makes Avastin and conducted this study. “This is not new information. Basically, this shows that results from this study are consistent with the interpretation that is already on the label.” “I don’t see this changing anyone’s treatment,” added Dr. Alan Astrow, director of hematology/oncology at Maimonides Cancer Center in New York City. “These are non-trivial complications, but, in the setting of meta
It took only an instant for 58-year-old Gailanne Reeh to go from the picture of health to death’s door. By chance, her doctor noticed a lump under her arm during a routine exam. It turned out to be advanced breast cancer. Soon she was having tests to reveal the extent of the cancer and hearing the grim results. The surgeon, she recalled, “looked at me and said: ‘This is not a conversation I like to have. But I can’t do anything for you. You can’t be cured. You can’t be treated. All we can do is manage your cancer.’ ” On scans to detect tumors, the doctor told Ms. Reeh, “you light up like a Christmas tree.” And so, like many others in that situation, Ms. Reeh, the vivacious owner of a staffing agency in Boston, was given bevacizumab, also known as Avastin, a drug that signifies both the hopes and dilemmas of modern medicine. Looked at one way, Avastin, made by Genentech, is a wonder drug. Approved for patients with advanced lung, colon or breast cancer, it cuts off tumors’ blood supply,
