|
|
Cholesterol-lowering Statin Drugs May Promote Blood Vessel Growth.
Seems like this would be a bad thing for FEVR patients to me.
Statins have been shown to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels
March 4, 2004
**************************************************************
Dear Reader,
Last week the FDA approved a new drug called Avastin; a
breakthrough therapy that fights cancer by impeding the
blood supply that tumors need to survive. Apparently this
remarkable drug will help some patients add months or even
years to their lives.
But Avastin may have some competition - not market
competition from another brand, but competition for
effectiveness. Because the most popular prescription drug on
the market today (taken by millions of people worldwide)
actually stimulates the growth of new blood vessels.
Miracle drugs won't work many miracles if they simply undo
one another.
--------------------------------------------------------------
A pretty penny
--------------------------------------------------------------
Cancer cells thrive and multiply when they prompt the body
to create new blood vessels; a process called angiogenesis.
When anti-angiogenesis therapy was first conceived of more
than 40 years ago it was dismissed as a farfetched idea.
Today it's considered the future of mainstream cancer
therapy, and as of last week Avastin is leading the vanguard
of this new class of drugs.
The FDA approved Avastin specifically to treat cases of
colorectal cancer where the cancer has just metastasized and
spread to other areas of the body. While additional trials
are underway to determine Avastin's effectiveness against
other types of cancer, you can be certain that some
oncologists will want to prescribe Avastin for a variety of
cancer types right away. The question is: Will insurance
companies cover off-label use of the drug?
That could be a sticking point, because a patient who takes
Avastin for a year can expect to pay more than $100 per day.
Given that 150,000 new cases of colorectal cancer are
diagnosed each year in the U.S., it's no wonder that
analysts are predicting that Avastin's sales may approach $2
billion a year for Genentech, Inc., the maker of the drug.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Clash of the Titans
--------------------------------------------------------------
As with most drugs, Avastin use comes with a formidable list
of possible side effects, including high blood pressure,
diarrhea, blood clots and a lowered white blood cell count,
which can increase the risk of infection. Some patients have
also reported internal bleeding and ruptures in the colon.
And Avastin has been shown to be effective only when used
with a program of traditional chemotherapy, which often
subjects the body to alarming stresses.
Of course, for most cancer patients, the side effects and
the exorbitant cost of Avastin will be tolerable trade offs
in exchange for the promise of additional months or years of
life. So it would be a particular shame if they were taking
another medication that actually worked against their best
efforts to survive.
In the e-Alert "Missing the Forest" (7/23/03), I told you
about the concern that cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may
promote cancer. Few studies have been conducted in this
area, and so far the results are conflicting. One of the
primary reasons that further research needs to explore the
statin/cancer question is this: Statins have been shown to
stimulate the growth of new blood vessels - the very
situation that Avastin is designed to reverse.
It's impossible to predict which drug would win out in such
a confrontation. But with the number of statin prescriptions
estimated at well over 100 million worldwide, you can be
sure that there will be statin-users who will also end up
using Avastin.
--------------------------------------------------------------
To Your Good Health,
Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute