A new study published in the Jan. 22 online issue of Lancet Oncology finds that a drug prescribed to kidney and liver cancer patients can also potentially raise their blood pressure to unsafe levels.
Nexavar is the name of the drug that was approved by the FDA for advanced kidney cancer in 2005, and in 2007 for liver cancer.
For their study, researchers analyzed 9 studies featuring just under 5,000 participants.
They found that there was a 23.4 percent incidence of all-grade hypertension, and a 5.7 percent incidence of high grade hypertension in those who were given the drug.
Nexavar is an anti-angiogenesis drug, meaning it fights cancer by cutting off a tumor’s blood supply.
Nexavar is also being tested in clinical trials to treat small-cell lung cancer, prostate cancer and melanoma.
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