Evaluation of lung toxicity with bevacizumab using the spontaneous reporting database

Abstract

This study was undertaken to determine the risk of bevacizumab-induced lung toxicity, time to onset, and post hoc outcomes using the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report database. We analysed data for the period between April 2004 and March 2021. Data on lung toxicities were extracted, and relative risk of adverse events (AEs) was estimated using the reporting odds ratio. We analysed 5,273,115 reports and identified 20,399 reports of AEs caused by bevacizumab. Of these, 1679 lung toxicities were reportedly associated with bevacizumab. Signals were detected for nine lung toxicities. A histogram of times to onset showed occurrence from 35 to 238 days, but some cases occurred even more than one year after the start of administration. Approximately 20% of AEs were thromboembolic events. Among these, pulmonary embolism was the most frequently reported and fatal cases were also reported. The AEs showing the highest fatality rates were pulmonary haemorrhage, pulmonary infarction, and pulmonary thrombosis. In conclusion, we focused on lung toxicities caused by bevacizumab as post-marketing AEs. Some cases could potentially result in serious outcomes, patients should be monitored for signs of onset of AEs not only at the start of administration, but also over a longer period of time.