Chemotherapy with bevacizumab increases risk of blood clots in arteriesAugust 08, 2007Treatment with chemotherapy and bevacizumab, an anticancer drug, is associated with a greater risk of blood clots in patients' arteries compared with treatment with chemotherapy only, according to a study published online August 7 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The combination of chemotherapy and bevacizumab has been shown to increase survival in patients with metastatic colorectal and non-small-cell lung cancer, but some previous studies suggest these patients are at an increased risk for blood clots in their arteries. Frank Scappaticci, M.D., Ph.D., of Genentech, Inc. in South San Francisco, Calif., and colleagues analyzed data from five randomized controlled trials that included 1,745 patients with metastatic colorectal, breast, or non-small-cell lung cancer.
Among patients treated with the combination therapy, 3.8 percent experienced blood clots in their arteries, compared with 1.7 percent of patients on chemotherapy alone. There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of blood clots in veins. Risk factors for blood clots in both arteries and veins included previous blood clots and older age (65 or older.) "The clinical benefit associated with bevacizumab therapy was maintained for all subgroups. Although death from [a blood clot in the artery] was uncommon, we did not capture functional disabilities from these events, and the risk factors-identified in this study should be considered when making treatment decisions for individual patients," the authors write. Journal of the National Cancer Institute | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Related Blood Clots Current Events and Blood Clots News Articles Study Investigates Non-Surgical Placement of a Gore-tex Type Device in the Heart to Stop Recurrent Strokes and Mini-Strokes A study is under way at Rush University Medical Center using a small, soft-patch device made of a Gore-tex-type material - often used to make durable outerwear - to close a common hole found in the heart called a patent foramen ovale (PFO) in order to prevent recurrent strokes and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) in adults. Simple new method detects contaminants in life-saving drug The blood-thinning drug heparin is highly effective when used to prevent and treat blood clots in veins, arteries and lungs, but earlier this year its reputation as a lifesaver was sullied when contaminated heparin products caused serious allergic reactions that led to a large number of deaths. Dual treatment for stroke leads to improved recovery rates, reduced mortality It appears that stroke patients who receive both intravenous thrombolysis - a minimally invasive treatment that dissolves abnormal blood clots - and endovascular interventions - such as drugs and implanting medical devices - are much more likely to recover and have lower chances of dying. Preventing anemia is important to kidney disease patients' quality of life Maintaining sufficient red blood cell levels is important to the physical and mental health of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study appearing in the January 2009 issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). The findings indicate that preventing anemia in kidney disease patients should be an integral part of their care. Nature study demonstrates that bacterial clotting depends on clustering Bacteria can directly cause human blood and plasma to clot-a process that was previously thought to have been lost during the course of vertebrate evolution, according to new research at the University of Chicago, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Institut Pasteur in Paris. Their findings will be published online Nov. 2 in Nature Chemical Biology. Friend or foe? How the body's clot-busting system speeds up atherosclerosis Sometimes it's hard to tell friends from foes, biologically speaking. Naturally produced in the body, urokinase plasminogen activator and plasminogen interact to break up blood clots and recruit clean-up cells to clear away debris related to inflammation. In fact, urokinase manufactured as a drug effectively clears clogged arteries by generating clot-busting plasmin from blood-derived plasminogen. DNA research taking guesswork out of finding the 'therapeutic window' It's only spit, but what's inside your saliva may help solve a dosing dilemma facing doctors and patients. Heart failure patients have higher risk of fractures Heart failure patients are at higher risk for fractures, including debilitating hip fractures, than other heart patients and should be screened and treated for osteoporosis, Canadian researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Stress tests to confirm need for cardiac stent not occurring in most patients, new study finds UCSF researchers investigating the appropriate use of procedures to open narrowed coronary arteries -- such as angioplasty and stenting -- found that less than half of Medicare patients had documented noninvasive stress testing prior to elective percutaneous coronary intervention, or PCI, the clinical name for such procedures. Triple antiplatelet therapy appears superior to dual antiplatelet therapy Results of five research studies and a clinical registry first-report presentation scheduled for the 20th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), suggest that triple antiplatelet therapy for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents achieves greater platelet inhibition than conventional dual antiplatelet therapy. More Blood Clots Current Events and Blood Clots News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||