Link between sunitinib (Sutent) and heart failure?

[News Feeder14]

Data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting suggest that 15% of patients who took sunitinib (Sutent®) developed heart failure. Researchers studied 48 patients with kidney cancer or gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) on sunitinib and noted that 7 (15%) experienced heart failure. The problems began between 22 days and 435 days after beginning therapy, although most started within the first three months of treatment. Individuals with a history of heart failure, coronary artery disease or low BMI were at an even higher risk and 3 of 5 patients followed long term continued to have heart problems even after the drug was stopped. The researchers call for routine cardiac monitoring in patients receiving sunitinib and for cardiac adverse effects to be carefully examined in future trials of the drug. Previously, a retrospective analysis of phase I/II data published in the Lancet had noted the development of cardiovascular adverse events, including heart failure, in some patients with GIST who took the drug (see NeLM link). At the time of the Lancet paper, Pfizer released a statement agreeing that these cardiac risks do exist but added that they "were medically manageable in most patients and underscore the importance of having a collaborative team of health-care professionals working together to appropriately manage patients who have limited available options" in treating their cancer.
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