Why the study?
Anamorelin has noted proarrhythmic effects, but detailed reports on its mechanisms and specific arrhythmias are lacking.
Does anamorelin induce fatal arrhythmias such as sinus arrest and refractory ventricular tachycardia?
Does anamorelin induce fatal arrhythmias such as sinus arrest and refractory ventricular tachycardia?
This case report highlights the potential for fatal proarrhythmic effects, including sinus arrest and refractory ventricular tachycardia, associated with anamorelin use.
Alerts clinicians to arrhythmia risk with anamorelin; leaves open confirmation in larger prospective studies.
Anamorelin is the first drug for the treatment of cancer cachexia. It is an oral small-molecule ghrelin-like drug that stimulates growth hormone secretion and appetite.1 In clinical trials in patients with inoperable stage III or IV non–small cell lung cancer and cachexia, it improved appetite scores and increased lean body mass, a measure of the skeletal muscle mass.2,3 Moreover, this drug has been noted for its proarrhythmic effects by decreasing sodium channel currents and L-type calcium channel currents; however, there are few reports on the detailed mechanisms and arrhythmias.
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Kojima et al. (2022) studied this question.
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