In a nutshell
This study investigated the interactions between tyrosine kinase inhibitors and other drugs taken at the same time in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. This study concluded that drug interactions were found in a significant number of patients, with mild side effects.
Some background
Imatinib (Gleevec) and similar drugs are the standard therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Imatinib is a tyrosine kinase (TK) inhibitor. This type of treatment is a targeted therapy. This treatment blocks cancer cell survival. This leads to cancer cell death.
TK inhibitors are known to have serious interactions with other drugs. How often these interactions occur and whether there are side effects remains under investigation in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia.
Methods & findings
This study determined whether tyrosine kinase inhibitors interacted with other drugs taken at the same time in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. This study included records from 105 patients. Patients were already taking an average of 4.8 medications. Therapies included imatinib, nilotinib (Tasigna), dasatinib (Sprycel), bosutinib (Bosulif), and ponatinib (Iclusig). The average follow-up period was 28 months.
Overall, 159 drug interactions were found. Of these, 64% were not severe and 16% were high-risk. The most common interacting drugs included proton pump inhibitors (16%), statins (16%), and antidepressants (11%).
60% of patients experienced at least one drug interaction. Patients who were taking fewer than 4 medications reported significantly fewer drug interactions (0.4) than those taking 4 or more medications (2 interactions). 20% of patients experienced side effects or reduced effectiveness. 30% of patients switched treatment to another TK inhibitor.
Overall, side effects were reported in 82% of patients who experienced drug interactions. Most of the reported side effects were mild. These included muscle pain (10.8%), edema (swelling in the hands, legs, or feet from water retention; 9.9%), and diarrhea (6.7%). High liver enzymes (4.5%) and vomiting (3.6%) were also reported.
The bottom line
This study concluded that drug interactions were found in a significant number of CML patients, with mild side effects.
The fine print
This study was retrospective, meaning it looked back in time to analyze data.
What’s next?
If you have chronic myeloid leukemia, talk to your care team about your current medications before starting TK inhibitor therapy.
Published By :
Annals of Hematology
Date :
Jun 28, 2018
