
A meta-analysis published Tuesday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology suggests that women with advanced breast cancer treated with Roche's Avastin (bevacizumab) were more likely to experience heart failure than women who did not take the drug.
The report comes just weeks after US regulators recommended withdrawing approval of the drug for treating breast cancer.
The analysis of 3784 patients found that 1.6 percent of women taking Avastin developed heart failure, which was considered by researchers to be "reasonably low," but exceeded the 0.4 percent heart failure rate observed in patients not taking the drug.
In addition, between 25 percent and 30 percent of patients treated with the drug developed high blood pressure and approximately 4 percent to 5 percent developed blood clots. The researchers noted that no differences in adverse event rates were observed between high and low doses of the compound.
Lead researcher Toni Choueiri said that the increased risk of cardiovascular events may be due to the fact that Avastin inhibits VEGF, which is necessary to maintain the structure of the heart and may be particularly harmful in women with breast cancer because of prior or simultaneous use of other drugs that may have already compromised the heart.