Raulken co.UK - Genentech disputes new Avastin research data

(11-18) 17:43 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- Genentech's blockbuster cancer drug Avastin is linked to a significantly increased risk of blood clots in the veins, said a team of university researchers whose conclusions were quickly challenged by the big...

Genentech’s cancer drug Avastin was linked to a significantly increased risk of blood clots in the veins, according to an analysis of earlier studies. Patients who received the drug were 33 percent more likely to have blood clots develop in their veins than those who didn’t receive it, Dr. Shenhong Wu and his colleagues reported late Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Contrary to other studies by Genentech researchers that have said that the vein clots did not rise significantly the risk of vein clots among patients taking Avastin, this new study indicates that doctors and their patients should be watching carefully for symptoms of blood clots. Doctors should monitor their patients for signs of vein clots and use blood thinners in those most likely to develop clots, said Wu and his colleagues. Many cancer patients already have an elevated risk of blood clots in the body's veins, known as venous thromboembolism. Venous thrombotic embolism (VTE) is a dangerous condition because the blood clot forming in the veins can break loose and travel through the circulatory system to the right side of the heart. The blood clot could easily become dangerous if it manages to travel to the lungs, where it becomes a pulmonary embolism, which can be life threatening or even fatal. A spokesman for the drugmaker said the...
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