In a nutshell
This study aimed to investigate the risk of cardiovascular (heart and blood vessel) side effects in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia who were treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
This study concluded that these side effects were more frequent in this group of patients.
Some background
Cardiovascular events (CVE) have been observed in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) treated with second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). CVE are incidents which cause damage to the heart muscle and blood vessels. TKIs are targeted therapies that can be used in the treatment of CML. They block the growth of cancer cells. Imatinib (Gleevec) is a first-generation TKI. Dasatinib (Sprycel), and nilotinib (Tasigna) are all second-generation TKIs.
Arterial occlusive events (AOE) are those which cause the arteries to narrow and this leads to reduced blood flow. These include heart attacks and strokes. The risk of CVE and AOE in patients with CML treated with TKIs is still unknown.
Methods & findings
This study involved 233 patients who had CML. All patients were treated with a TKI. 116 patients received imatinib and were followed for an average of 2047 days. 75 received dasatinib and were followed for an average of 1712 days. 42 received nilotinib and were followed for an average of 1773 days.
4.29% of patients experienced a CVE during follow-up. Three events occurred during dasatinib treatment and six during nilotinib treatment. No events occurred during imatinib treatment.
AOE occurred in 2.6% of patients treated with dasatinib. 14.2% of patients treated with nilotinib experienced AOE. All AOE occurred in patients with high and very high-risk cardiovascular risk.
The bottom line
This study concluded that CVE were more frequent in patients who received second-generation TKIs. It was also concluded that AOEs were more frequent in patients treated with nilotinib and those with high and very high-risk cardiovascular risk.
The fine print
This study was based on patients in a single medical institution in Brazil. The results may not apply to the general population.
What’s next?
If you have concerns about the side effects of CML treatment, please discuss with your physician.
Published By :
Clinical lymphoma, myeloma & leukemia
Date :
Mar 01, 2019
