Bevacizumab therapy for metastatic malignancies is associated with a significant risk of cardiovascular complications, including hypertension, cardiac ischemia, and congestive heart failure.
What are the cardiovascular toxicities associated with bevacizumab in the treatment of metastatic malignancies?
Bevacizumab, a targeted cancer therapy, carries significant risks of cardiovascular complications including hypertension, ischemia, and heart failure, necessitating careful monitoring.
Recognition and management of treatment-related cardiovascular toxicity, defined as either an acute cardiac event or a chronic condition, has been tightly integrated into routine cancer care and has become an important component in treatment selection. Several chemotherapeutic agents, such as anthracyclines, are traditionally characterized as cardiotoxic, but cardiovascular adverse events are also associated with commonly used molecular targeted therapies. In the past decade, bevacizumab, a monoclonal humanized antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor, has been introduced in the treatment of a variety of metastatic malignancies. Despite its efficacy, bevacizumab has been associated with significant risk of cardiovascular complications, such as hypertension, cardiac ischemia, and congestive heart failure. This review will focus on the cardiovascular toxicity of bevacizumab, providing the latest evidence on the incidence, clinical spectrum, risk factors, and responsible mechanisms.
Economopoulou et al. (2015) conducted a review in Metastatic malignancies and cardiovascular toxicity. Bevacizumab was evaluated on Cardiovascular complications (hypertension, cardiac ischemia, and congestive heart failure). Bevacizumab therapy for metastatic malignancies is associated with a significant risk of cardiovascular complications, including hypertension, cardiac ischemia, and congestive heart failure.