Abstract
Background/AimsThe use of antiangiogenic agents (AAs) in cancer treatment has increased because they offer survival benefit in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy. Given their potential to cause gastrointestinal (GI) perforation and bleeding, it is currently recommended that AAs be held for 28 days before and after surgery. However, there are no specific guidelines which address their use around endoscopic procedures because data regarding the safety of endoscopy in cancer patients while on AAs is scarce despite the fact that these patients often require endoscopy. This study investigated the safety of endoscopy in cancer patients receiving AAs.MethodsThis is a retrospective multicenter study of a consecutive case series of 445 cancer patients undergoing endoscopy within 31 days of administration of AAs at 5 specialized cancer centers between April 2008 and August 2014. Endoscopies were classified into two different categories based on the risk of GI bleeding and perforation: low and high. The primary outcome measures were procedure-related adverse events (AEs) and death within 30 days of endoscopy. The severity of AEs was classified according to the common terminology criteria for adverse events (CTCAE) version 4.0. The incidence of AEs and mortality was calculated using the total number of patients as the denominator.Results445 cancer patients with a mean age of 54 years underwent a total of 545 endoscopies. Median time duration from AAs to endoscopy was 11 days. Of 545 endoscopic procedures, 398 (73%) were low-risk and 147 (27%) were high-risk. There were 3 procedure-related AEs: esophageal perforation (grade 3) two days after an EGD, pancreatitis (grade 5) a day after failed ERCP, and bleeding from the gastrostomy site (grade 1) two days after an EGD. Of 445 patients, 29 (6.5%) died within 30 days of the procedure with no deaths deemed procedure-related. The most common causes of death were terminal cancer (n = 10), hepatic decompensation (n = 5) and sepsis (n = 4).ConclusionIn this retrospective study, the rate of endoscopy-related AEs in patients on AAs appears to be low when performed in specialized cancer centers. However, future prospective studies are needed to confirm this finding.
Highlights
Antiangiogenic agents (AAs) such as bevacizumab and aflibercept offer survival benefits in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy in many metastatic cancers including colon, renal, non–small cell lung and breast [1,2,3,4,5,6]
The rate of endoscopy-related adverse events (AEs) in patients on AAs appears to be low when performed in specialized cancer centers
This study investigated the incidence of AEs in patients undergoing endoscopy within 31 days of administration of AAs
Summary
Antiangiogenic agents (AAs) such as bevacizumab and aflibercept offer survival benefits in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy in many metastatic cancers including colon, renal, non–small cell lung and breast [1,2,3,4,5,6]. These agents are inhibitors of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a glycoprotein that is overexpressed in many solid tumors and is a key regulator of the angiogenesis process [7;8]. Among the anti-VEGF agents, bevacizumab retains the highest frequency of bleeding including epistaxis, hemoptysis, hematemesis, GI or vaginal bleeding, and brain hemorrhage [8;14]
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