The drug approved to treat lung and pancreatic cancers called Tarceva has been linked to serious side effects including potentially fatal digestive tract perforations, skin reactions and eye problems. The complications from this defective drug have prompted the Food & Drug Administration to announce new warnings for the drug’s label.

The drug Tarceva is one of a class of cancer drugs known as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) trosine kinase inhibitors, which are treatments designed to block the EGFR protein. This protein is believed to play a role in cancer cell growth.

The risk for gastrointestinal perforations while undergoing Terceva therapy is greatest in patients receiving concomitant anti-angiogenic agents, corticosteroids, NSAIDs, and/or taxane-based chemotherapy, or who have prior history of peptic ulceration or diverticular disease. According to the letter, some instances of perforation had been fatal.

In addition, some Tarceva patients had developed bullous, blistering and exfoliative skin conditions, even suggestive of Stevens-Johnson syndrome or toxic epidermal necrolysis. Some of the defective drug cases have resulted in deaths.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 29th, 2009 at 4:05 pm and is filed under Defective Drugs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.