Dr. Cone on Research Investigating Cardiac Toxicity of GnRH Agonists/Antagonists in Prostate Cancer

Eugene B. Cone, MD, a urologic oncology fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses research investigating the cardiac toxicity of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists and antagonists in prostate cancer.

It’s common for patients with prostate cancer to develop biochemical recurrence or present with advanced disease, says Cone. Frontline treatments commonly include GnRH agonists such as leuprolide, or GnRH antagonists such as degarelix (Firmagon). Both agents have similar clinical benefits and clinical profiles; however, the cardiac toxicity associated with these drugs has not been well established.

To that end, investigators evaluated the cardiac toxicities of these agents through pharmacovigilance methodologies, which have not historically been used in urology, says Cone. In the analysis, investigators pooled data from VigiBase, which is a database from the World Health Organization. The database compiles reports from more than 130 countries across the globe. The data were used to determine the relative cardiac risk with GnRH agonist and antagonist therapy.