Experimental Drug Linked to Stevens-Johnson Syndrome

December 2, 2010, 1:30PM. By Heidi Turner

Boston, MAAn experimental drug designed to treat thyroid cancer has been linked to Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS). Stevens-Johnson syndrome is a potentially fatal reaction to medication that causes burn-like blisters over the patient's body. Any medication has the potential to cause Stevens-Johnson syndrome symptoms, although SJS has been linked to ibuprofen and antibiotics.

An experimental drug, vandetanib (brand name Zactima), has been linked to serious side effects in approximately 30 percent of patients who used the medication during a recent study. That is compared with only 13 percent of patients who were given a placebo and experienced serious side effects. Among the serious side effects experienced by patients who were given vandetanib were SJS, strokes and lung disease. Furthermore, according to an AFP (11/30/10) report, up to 80 percent of patients given vandetanib were switched to lower doses during the study.

The US Food and Drug Administration is now asking an expert panel to discuss the medication and determine whether the "substantial toxicity" of vandetanib means the drug should have limited indications.

Vandetanib is made by AstraZeneca to treat medullary thyroid cancer, a disease that has lower survival rates than other thyroid cancers.

Meanwhile, a woman who became blind 10 years ago after developing Stevens-Johnson syndrome has recovered her sight through an experimental surgery. The surgery involved removing one of the patient's teeth and putting it in her eye to anchor a prosthetic lens. NBC Atlanta (11alive.com, 11/29/10) reports that the patient, Sharron Thornton, lost her sight, hair, nails and most of her skin when she developed Stevens-Johnson syndrome.

Not much is known about what causes SJS or why certain people develop it. What is known is that patients who take medication for something as simple as a toothache could develop the life-changing condition. Symptoms of SJS involve burn-like blisters all over the body, requiring the patient be treated in a burn unit at the hospital. Many patients suffer the loss of their hair, including their eyelashes, and wind up losing their sight or suffer vision problems. Blisters in the patient's mouth can result in difficulty eating.

Patients who survive their SJS ordeal often find their lives are changed. Even if they retain their sight, they often cannot be out in sunlight without sunglasses.

Not everyone survives his battle with SJS.