AE Risk Examined for Abiraterone, Enzalutamide in Prostate Cancer

MONDAY, June 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) — For men with advanced prostate cancer, receipt of abiraterone or enzalutamide is associated with an increased risk for major metabolic or cardiovascular adverse events, according to a study published online April 13 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Lillian Y. Lai, M.D., from the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, and colleagues examined the association between the use of abiraterone or enzalutamide and the risk for metabolic or cardiovascular adverse events while on treatment among men with advanced prostate cancer. The occurrence of a major metabolic or cardiovascular adverse event was assessed as the primary composite outcome; the occurrence of a minor metabolic or cardiovascular adverse event was also examined.

The researchers found that men receiving abiraterone had an increased risk for both a major composite event and a minor composite event compared with those not receiving abiraterone (hazard ratios, 1.77 [95 percent confidence interval, 1.53 to 2.05; P < 0.001] and 1.24 [95 percent confidence interval, 1.05 to 1.47; P = 0.01], respectively). Men receiving enzalutamide had an increased risk for a major composite adverse event (hazard ratio, 1.22; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.01 to 1.48; P = 0.04), but not a minor composite adverse event (hazard ratio, 1.04; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.83 to 1.30; P = 0.75) compared with those not receiving enzalutamide.

“With continued expansion of the indications for abiraterone and enzalutamide to earlier stages of the disease, increasing numbers of men will be receiving these therapies for longer periods of time,” Lai said in a statement. “This will potentially amplify the scope of men affected and increase the magnitude of the risks of adverse events, making careful attention to management of these issues crucial.”

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