COVID-19 still represents a major issue for patients with lymphoid malignancies, especially those on therapy, because of immune suppression and suboptimal responses to vaccination. Davis et al report on their experience with double dose tixagevimab-cilgavimab preexposure prophylaxis in a cohort of 251 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, B-cell lymphomas, multiple myeloma, or B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, 63% of whom had received 3 doses of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Breakthrough infections within 3 months occur despite passive immunization, affecting 11% in this series; however, hospitalization rates are low, and mortality was avoided, suggesting benefit from this strategy.

BackgroundSeveral anti-cancer drugs have been linked to new onset atrial fibrillation (AF) but the true association of these drugs with AF is unknown. The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), a publicly available pharmacovigilance mechanism provided by the FDA, collects adverse event reports from the United States and other countries, thus providing real-world data.ObjectivesTo identify anti-cancer drugs associated with AF using the FAERS database.MethodsThe FAERS database was searched for all drugs reporting AF as an adverse event (AE). The top 30 anti-cancer drugs reporting AF cases were shortlisted and analyzed. Proportional reporting ratio (PRR) was used to measure disproportionality in reporting of adverse events for these drugs.ResultsWhen analyzed for AF as a percentage of all reported AE for a particular drug, Ibrutinib had the highest percentage (5.3%) followed distantly by venetoclax (1.6%), bortezomib (1.6%), carfilzomib (1.5%), and nilotinib (1.4%). The percentage of cardiac AE attributable to AF was also highest for ibrutinib (41.5%), followed by venetoclax (28.4%), pomalidomide (23.9%), bortezomib (18.2%), and lenalidomide (18.2%). Drugs with the highest PRR for AF included ibrutinib (5.96, 95% CI= 5.70–6.23), bortezomib (1.65, 95% CI = 1.52–1.79), venetoclax (1.65, 95% CI = 1.46–1.85), carfilzomib (1.53, 95% CI = 1.33–1.77), and nilotinib (1.46, 95% CI = 1.31–1.63).ConclusionsWhile newer anti-cancer drugs have improved the prognosis in cancer patients, it is important to identify any arrhythmias they may cause early on to prevent increased morbidity and mortality. Prospective studies are needed to better understand the true incidence of new onset AF associated with anti-cancer drugs.

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