WEDNESDAY, June 18 (HealthDay News) -- French doctors have
reported a possible new side effect associated with the cancer drug
Gleevec (imatinib), widely used for the treatment of chronic
myeloid leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumors.
In a letter published in the June 19 issue of the
New England Journal of Medicine, the doctors describe the
case of a 25-year-old woman who developed severe rhabdomyolysis
while taking imatinib.
Rhabdomyolysis is the breakdown of muscle fibers resulting in
the release of muscle fiber contents (myoglobin) into the
bloodstream. The condition can cause kidney damage.
The woman was taking imatinib (daily dose of 400 mg) in a
clinical trial for the treatment of aggressive fibromatosis
(desmoid tumors) that couldn't be treated with surgery. Shortly
after the start of drug treatment, the woman experienced symptoms
of rhabdomyolysis.
After she stopped taking imatinib, her symptoms ceased. She then
agreed to take the drug again while under medical surveillance.
Twenty-four hours after she received the first daily dose of 100
mg, she suffered severe symptoms. The drug treatment was halted,
and her symptoms disappeared in three days.
The woman's desmoid tumors were treated with radiotherapy, and
she has not experienced any recurrence of rhabdomyolysis
symptoms.
"We considered our patient's rhabdomyolysis to be induced by
imatinib because of the temporal relationship (the rhabdomyolysis
occurred within a few days after the initiation of imatinib
therapy), the recurrence of rhabdomyolysis with the reintroduction
of the drug, and normalization of the creatine kinase level after
discontinuation of the drug. Although there is extensive clinical
experience with the safe use of imatinib, this observation suggests
that the drug may cause severe rhabdomyolysis in a small proportion
of patients," the doctors wrote.
Earlier this year, a case report by Greek doctors suggested that
imatinib may disrupt ovarian function and impair fertility. It was
published as a letter in the
New England Journal of Medicine.
More information
The MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia has more about
rhabdomyolysis.
