Researchers at the State University of New York believe their study shows that Nexavar significantly increases the risk of hypertension according to a report released on Tuesday.
In an article for the Lancet Oncology the study found that patients taking sorafenib, Nexavar, should be monitored very closely and treated for hypertension to prevent cardiovascular complications.
"Early detection and effective management of hypertension might allow for safer use of this drug," Shenhong Wu of State University of New York, Stoney Brook and colleagues wrote. "Future studies will be needed to identify the mechanism and appropriate treatment of sorafenib-induced hypertension."
Nexavar is Bayer AG and Onyx Pharmaceutical's cancer drug. It is Bayer's most promising drug and Onyx's only drug on the market. It has been approved for use in Europe and the U.S for the treatment of kidney cancer. In November the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the indication for Nexavar to include liver cancer.
Wu and the other researchers stated that the risk of having high blood pressure increased 23 percent over those that were not given the drug.
Currently Nexavar is also being tested on several other cancers including breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.
[Source: Reuters]
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