Researchers reviewed 676 MS patients treated with mitoxantrone from 1994 to 2007 and followed them until 2010.
Here’s what they found.
1. Of the 676 patients, 37 or 5.5 percent were diagnosed with cancer after taking the drug. Nine were diagnosed with breast cancer, seven with colorectal and four with acute myeloid leukemia, which was associated with mitoxantrone.
“The rate of leukemia was 10 times higher in the people treated with mitoxantrone than in the general population in Germany,” the researchers wrote.
2. The rate of breast cancer development was on pace with that of the general population.
3. Three people with colorectal cancer died during the study.
4. All four people with leukemia went into remission after treatment; they were alive after the study concluded.
5. The researchers said older patients were at higher risk of developing cancer when taking the drug.
6. The researchers concluded, “Despite an increased risk of acute myeloid leukemia and colorectal cancer, the overall rate of cancer was low enough to justify still using this drug for people severely affected by MS if no better treatment is available.”
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