The impact of bevacizumab on port catheter complications: A retrospective evaluation in cancer patients

AimTo retrospectively compare port catheter-related complications in chemotherapy patients with and without bevacizumab treatment, and to identify additional factors contributing to these complications.MethodsThis retrospective study included cases who received chemotherapy with a port catheter between January 2014 and May 2018 at our hospital. The study retrospectively collected data on patient demographics, malignancy details, comorbidities, chemotherapy drugs, catheter insertion timing, complications, removal reasons, neutropenia, culture results, and patient outcomes. Patients were grouped based receiving or not receiving bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy.ResultsThe study included 600 patients, 227 of whom received chemotherapy combined with bevacizumab. The results showed that leukemia was significantly associated with an increased risk of catheter complications (p < 0.001), while the presence of any comorbidity was independently linked to a decreased risk of complications (p = 0.030). In patients receiving bevacizumab, complications occurred more frequently when the catheter was placed simultaneously with the drug (p = 0.017). Additionally, the complication group had a significantly shorter catheter duration (p < 0.001) and a higher mortality rate (p = 0.037). Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that leukemia was a significant independent factor for increased complication risk (p < 0.001), while comorbidities were protective against complications (p = 0.030).ConclusionBevacizumab was associated with increased complication risk in only subjects in which treatment was initiated immediately after catheter placement. However, multivariable analysis revealed that this significant relationship disappeared when adjusted for other factors, leaving leukemia as the only risk factor independently associated with port catheter complications.