Breast Cancer Drug Herceptin Triggers Heart Ailments in Older Women

Herceptin (trastuzumab), a breast cancer drug which was approved by the FDA in the year 1998, is found to amplify the risk of heart diseases in elderly women.

This drug is the standard medicine used for women diagnosed with HER2 positive breast cancer, HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) protein boosts the growth of the cancer cells.

Researchers from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center conducted a study on about 9,535 breast cancer patients, of average age 71. Out of these 2,203 patients were given trastuzumab. It was found that the rate of CHF (cognitive heart failure) was  29.4 percent in the Herceptin consuming patients, whereas the rate was 18.9 percent in the patients not given Herceptin.

Another research conducted by the Group Health Research Institute found that women diagnosed with breast cancer who were on two chemotherapy drugs might be more prone to heart problems. This study was led by Erin Aiello Bowles, MPH and an epidemiologist at Group Health Research Institute. Bowels and her colleagues conducted clinical trials on women with breast cancer and tried probing the link between the two drugs trastuzumab and anthracycline. The researchers found that elderly women were at a greater risk of cardiomyopathy, heart failure or both.

"We tried to take a broader look by estimating the risk of heart failure in a more general population," Bowles said.

"We looked at all the women in a population with breast cancer, not selected ones. Our study shows that people who are not generally eligible for clinical trials-older women and those with existing heart failure-do receive these drugs in real life," she added.

This study was a population-based retrospective group study, which involved 12,500 women suffering from invasive breast cancer. Bowels explained that chemotherapy can lead to cardiac problems through several mechanisms.

"These drugs are toxic," she said. "They kill cancer cells, and sometimes kill other cells in the body, too. These drugs are still important for women with breast cancer to use because we know they improve survival. But as with any drug, people need to be aware of the risks, too."

The FDA had recently approved another drug called Perjeta, a Roche drug like Herceptin, for pre-surgery usage on breast cancer patients. This drug aids in treating metastatic cancer though the future impact of the medicine is yet to be explored.