Death Risk Higher for Cancer Patients Using Aranesp
Amgen, manufacturer of the anemia drug Aranesp, has found that in cancer patients, use of the drug leads to a higher risk of death. This finding is likely to raise concerns about the use of Aranesp and similar drugs.
Nearly one million Americans take Aranesp, or one of two similar drugs – Johnson & Johnson's Procrit, and Amgen's Epogen.
Mounting Concerns
Concern over the overuse of these drugs has been building. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that patients with kidney disease who were aggressively treated with Procrit had a risk of heart problems 34 percent higher than those who were treated less aggressively with the same drug.
A panel of experts at the National Kidney Foundation is now evaluating the drug and situation to assess whether guidelines for the drug's use should be changed.
An estimated 10 to 12 percent of Aranesp users had it prescribed to them to reduce the need of blood transfusions in anemic people despite the fact that it is not approved for such uses.
Additional Findings
The trial, originally conducted by Amgen with the goal of expanding the use of Aranesp to include patients with anemia caused by cancer, also found that Aranesp did not reduce the need of blood transfusions in these patients.
It also found that the drug did not reduce the need for blood transfusions, but did increase the number of deaths by a statistically significant quantity by the end of 16 weeks.
Amgen did not release numerical data for its trials. It merely said that the “risk/benefit ratio for Aranesp use is at best neutral and perhaps negative.”
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