Cardiac adverse events associated with axitinib: A real-world pharmacovigilance study based on the Japanese adverse drug event report database.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the disproportionality, times to onset, and outcomes of cardiac adverse events (AEs) associated with axitinib, using data from the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report (JADER) database.

METHODS

We analyzed data for the period from April 2004 to December 2024. Those on cardiac AEs were extracted and the disproportionality of axitinib-associated AEs was assessed by calculating reporting odds ratios (RORs).

RESULTS

Of the 2,988,681 reports with sex and age information, we identified 4788 reports of AEs associated with axitinib, including 508 cardiac AEs. Signals were detected for 16 cardiac AEs after adjustment for sex and age. Fatal outcomes were reported for five of these events with particularly high rates observed for cardiac failure, myocarditis, and immune-mediated myocarditis. Median times to onset indicated that cardiac AEs associated with axitinib occurred 14 to 420 days after administration. Weibull distributions showed that seven AEs (blood pressure increased, myocardial infarction, acute myocardial infarction, blood pressure systolic increased, oedema peripheral, oedema, and generalised oedema) occurred constantly throughout the exposure period (random failure type), and stress cardiomyopathy and immune-mediated myocarditis developed in a dose-dependent manner (wear-out failure-type).

CONCLUSIONS

We focused on cardiac AEs associated with axitinib as post-marketing AEs. Some with fatal outcomes may occur not only early in treatment but also later in the course. Continuous monitoring is essential to ensure timely detection and management of these potentially serious AEs in clinical practice.