Doctors have found a disturbing downside to some powerful new drugs
that harness the immune system to fight cancer: In rare cases, they may
cause potentially fatal heart damage, especially when used together.
"The problem is, no one has this on their
radar," so patients are not routinely checked for it, said Dr. Javid
Moslehi, head of a Vanderbilt University clinic specializing in heart
risks from cancer therapies.
He led a team of experts who reported Wednesday in the New England
Journal of Medicine about two patients who died of heart trouble two
weeks after receiving their first doses of two Bristol-Myers Squibb
drugs, Opdivo and Yervoy, for the deadly skin cancer melanoma.
Two similar drugs also are on the market, and the study leaders believe they might pose heart risks, too.
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