European journal of clinical pharmacology
-
Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. · Jun 2011
Meta AnalysisRisk of high-grade bleeding in patients with cancer treated with bevacizumab: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
High-grade bleeding is a serious adverse event associated with bevacizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting vascular endothelial growth factor and widely used in the current cancer treatments. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the overall incidence and risk of high-grade bleeding in cancer patients who receive bevacizumab therapy. ⋯ Among the patients included in the trials analyzed in this meta-analysis, the addition of bevacizumab to cancer chemotherapy significantly increased the risk of high-grade bleeding. The risk may be dose-dependent and may vary with tumor type.
-
Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. · Jun 2011
Pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic drug interactions reported to VigiBase, the WHO global individual case safety report database.
Drug interactions resulting in adverse drug reactions (ADRs) represent a major health problem both for individuals and the community. Despite this, limited information is reported in the literature on the drug interaction categories responsible for causing ADRs. In the study reported here, we investigated the drug combinations most frequently co-reported as interacting in the WHO Global Individual Case Safety Report (ICSR) database, VigiBase, and categorised these according to the drug interaction mechanism. ⋯ Drug interactions reported in globally collected ADR reports cover both pharmacodynamic, specifically additive pharmacological effects, and pharmacokinetic mechanisms primarily accredited to the inhibition of hepatic cytochrome P450 enzymes. These ADR reports often concern serious threats to patients' safety and are particularly related to the use of high risk drugs such as warfarin and heparin.