Exposure to cardiotoxic cancer drugs ‘substantial and growing’, Aussie study shows
Overall prevalence of exposure had more than quadrupled over 16 years, with females 'disproportionately affected'.
The number of patients exposed to potentially cardiotoxic cancer medicines quadrupled over the past two decades and is projected to continue rising, Australian researchers report.
Their retrospective cohort study shows that the overall prevalence of exposure was 232 per 10,000 people in 2021, up from 49 per 10,000 people in 2005.
And while rates of exposure increased for both men and women, the UNSW Sydney-led team said female patients were “disproportionately affected”.
Extrapolating the findings to the wider population suggests over one million Australians were exposed to these medicines over this 16-year period, the researchers wrote in The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific.
