| Study with breast cancer suggests that complications related to chemotherapy may be significantly more common than previously estimated A U.S. analysis of data for women with breast cancer suggests that complications related to chemotherapy may be significantly more common than previously estimated, according to an article in the August 16 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Sixteen percent of women who underwent chemotherapy for breast cancer experienced serious adverse effects requiring emergency care or hospitalization, according to the new study that was supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Most of the adverse events were related to serious complications caused by the toxicity of the drugs, including anemia, dehydration, and leukocytopenia. The risk for a serious adverse effect increased by 20 percent per month for each additional month of chemotherapy administered to women after their initial breast cancer diagnosis. “The study highlights the importance of studying how drugs affect people in everyday medical care,” said AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, MD. “It is important to know the impact of interventions such as chemotherapy so that patients can make informed decisions about the risks and benefits of their treatment options.” The study is the first to analyze the risks of serious adverse effects from intravenous chemotherapy in women under age 65 years since medications to treat the complications of chemotherapy became more available. More than 8 percent of women who had chemotherapy were seen in the emergency room or were hospitalized for infection and fever. The proportion of women treated for other chemotherapy-related problems included 5.5 percent for neutropenia or thrombocytopenia, 2.5 percent for electrolyte disturbances such as dehydration, 2.4 percent for nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, 2.0 percent for fatigue, dizziness, or a related condition, 1.2 percent for deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, and just under 1.0 percent for malnutrition. The researchers were led by Michael J. Hassett, MD, with the Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. |