Lung cancer drug could protect fertility after an ectopic pregnancy and cut the time it takes to cure the problem
by a third
- - Combination of medicines could reduce time it takes to cure ectopic pregnancy by a third
- - Gefitinib is a drug usually used to treat lung cancer
- - Ectopic pregnancy kills five women every year on average in the UK
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Researchers found that when gefitinib is combined with medicine used to treat ectopic pregnancy the time needed to cure the condition can reduce by a third
Women who suffer an ectopic pregnancy could have their fertility saved by a lung cancer drug.
The treatment should reduce the number who need surgery for the agonising condition, which can threaten their chances of having a baby in future.
Researchers found that when gefitinib – a drug commonly given to lung cancer patients – is combined with a medicine already used to treat ectopic pregnancy, the time needed to cure the problem is cut by one-third.
An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilised egg implants before reaching the womb and starts to grow in one of the two fallopian tubes.
It is often not diagnosed for several weeks, until symptoms develop into a medical emergency that can be life-threatening.
Some 12,000 women suffer an ectopic pregnancy each year in the UK. In the most serious cases, surgery is required, sometimes meaning the removal of a fallopian tube, making it more difficult for the woman to get pregnant again.
On average, five women die each year as a result of an ectopic pregnancy – usually from massive loss of blood.
In 90 per cent of cases, the drug methotrexate can be used successfully to remove the implanted egg.
But research led by Dr Andrew Horne at the University of Edinburgh and Dr Stephen Tong at the University of Melbourne shows the combination therapy using two drugs is much more effective.
Dr Horne said: ‘We’re very excited by the findings because it’s a problem affecting thousands of women.
‘An ectopic pregnancy can be extremely stressful for the woman involved.
‘If we can reduce the need for surgery, and thereby help fertility levels, then that would be an enormous benefit.
‘Reducing the treatment time for women who do not need surgery would also have a significant impact.’
In a study involving 12 women given conventional treatment for an ectopic, half had an additional seven-day course of gefitinib injections.
Gefitinib works by blocking a protein known to encourage cell growth which is found in high levels in ectopic tissue. The average time for the tissue to disintegrate was 21 days using the combination therapy compared with 32 days for the conventional drug alone.
None of the women needed surgery, says the report published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Dr Horne, who will now expand the study, said the main side-effect was a rash which disappeared when treatment ended.
Women said this would not deter them having treatment if it meant their fertility was less likely to be damaged, he said.
A short course of gefitinib costs £490 but surgery costs at least £1,500, with some women needing fertility treatment afterwards.
Chairman of The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust Alex Peace-Gadsby, who had emergency surgery for a misdiagnosed ectopic pregnancy, said: ‘This is wonderful news.
‘Ectopic pregnancy is both physically and emotionally traumatic, and women and their families have to come to terms with the loss of a baby, invasive surgery … and the loss of part of their fertility, all in a single experience.
‘If this can provide women with more treatment options and reduce their physical trauma, which in turn will lessen the emotional impact, then further study is applauded.’
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