Online ISSN: 2515-8260

Bortezomib: treating the cancer, killing the heart

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Keyuri Mehta, Vijayashree S. Gokhale, Kunal Garg, Chirag Gurbani

Abstract

Multiple myeloma (MM), a malignancy of the plasma cells, accounts for an estimated 14% of all newly diagnosed hematologic malignancies. Advances in chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation have improved survival rates, but MM remains incurable. Bortezomib, a first-in-class proteasome inhibitor, has been approved for patients with MM who have received at least two prior treatments and have demonstrated disease progression on the most recent one. During clinical trials, most side effects were manageable with standard interventions. The most common toxicities were asthenic conditions (fatigue, malaise, and weakness), gastrointestinal disturbances (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation), thrombocytopenia, peripheral neuropathy, pyrexia, and anemia. Most rare complication of cardiac toxicities include first degree and complete heart block eventually leading to decompensated heart failure.

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