Acute hypertension during ramucirumab infusion in two patients with advanced oesophagogastric cancer

Ramucirumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway, in combination with paclitaxel is becoming part of standard second-line systemic therapy for advanced oesophagogastric cancer, based on the results of the REGARD and RAINBOW trials. Common well-known side effects of VEGF pathway inhibitors are hypertension and infusion-related reactions. Here, we describe hypertension as the predominant feature of an infusion-related reaction in 2 patients with metastasised oesophagogastric carcinoma treated with ramucirumab and paclitaxel as second-line treatment and propose possible explanations of this side effect previously undescribed for ramucirumab.