Oncocardiology: new challenges, new opportunities

Association Between Cancer and Cardiovascular Toxicity: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study on NHANES 1999-2018

There is a dearth of evidence pertaining to the relationship of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its subtype with adjudicated cancer, thereby limiting our understanding of the heightened risk of CVD resulting from long-term complications of cancer and its therapies. The aim of this study was to quantify the risks of CVD and its subtypes in adult cancer survivors compared with cancer-free controls in a nationwide cross-sectional study on Continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). We included 44,442 participants ranging in age from 20 to 85 years. Cancer and CVD diagnoses were ascertained via the household questionnaires. The association of cancer status with the risk of CVD and CVD subtype was examined using weighted logistic regression. Stratification analyses were also performed by age, sex, race, marital status, income status, educational level, and hyperlipidemia. The Wald test was used to calculate P-value for interaction. A total of 4178 participants have cancer, while 4829 participants had CVD, respectively. In the multivariable-adjusted model, the cancer was consistently linked to an elevated risk of CVD. Stratification analyses showed that stronger association between cancer status and CVD risk was found in younger adults, non-white, and participants living without a spouse or partner, and without hyperlipidemia. Our study confirmed that cancer participants were strongly linked to living with CVD, independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, especially in younger adults, non-white, and participants living without a spouse or partner, and without hyperlipidemia. There exists a pressing requirement to establish effective strategies for the prevention of CVD within this population characterized by a heightened risk.

[Heart and cancer: cardio-oncology]

Cardiovascular diseases and cancer have a complex relationship and show a reciprocal linkage and influence. Mutual risk factors, demographic changes and increasing multimorbidity result in an increase in the incidence of both diseases. Advances in oncological and cardiological treatment lead to a further increase in patients with cured or chronic diseases as a relevant comorbidity. The induction of cardiovascular side effects by cancer therapies leads to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. Recent data also show that cardiovascular disease, through various factors, can also promote the development and progression of cancer. An understanding of the interrelationship between cardiovascular diseases and cancer can be seen as a major medical challenge for the future. To this end, scientific, structural, clinical and educational interfaces between cardiology and oncology are essential. This article outlines the complex relationships between cardiovascular diseases and cancer and defines current and future challenges for the best possible care of affected patients.

[Update cardio-oncology : Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy]

Cardiovascular diseases and cancer are the most common causes of death in Germany. Cancer treatment can lead to significant cardiovascular side effects and thus form a link between the two disease groups. The focus of cardio-oncology is on the best possible prevention, diagnostics and treatment of cardiovascular complications caused by cancer treatment. It is crucial for cardio-oncology to adapt to the continuous development of new forms of oncological treatment with previously unknown cardiovascular side effects. One such new form of treatment is immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy, which is regarded as the most important oncological milestone of the last decade due to its excellent oncological efficacy; however, the growing use has revealed a high risk of diverse cardiovascular side effects with high morbidity and mortality, so that cardio-oncological care of affected patients is of particular importance. This review summarizes the current scientific and clinical state of the pathophysiology, incidence, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular side effects of ICI therapy.

Association of Heart Failure Patients With and Without Sacubitril-Valsartan Use With Incident Cancer Risk

ABSTRACT

This study was to evaluate the association between heart failure (HF) patients with and without sacubitril-valsartan use with incident cancer risk. This study consisted of 18,072 patients receiving sacubitril-valsartan and 18,072 control group participants. In the Fine and Gray model, which extends the standard Cox proportional hazards regression model, we estimated the relative risk of developing cancer between the sacubitril-valsartan cohort and the non-sacubitril-valsartan cohort by using subhazard ratios (SHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The incidence rates of cancer were 12.02 per 1000 person-years for the sacubitril-valsartan cohort and 23.31 per 1000 person-years for the non-sacubitril-valsartan cohort. Patients receiving sacubitril-valsartan had a significantly lower risk of developing cancer with an adjusted SHR of 0.60 (0.51, 0.71). Sacubitril-valsartan users were less to be associated with the development of cancer.

Nuclear medicine in the assessment and prevention of cancer therapy-related cardiotoxicity: prospects and proposal of use by the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM)

Cardiotoxicity may present as (pulmonary) hypertension, acute and chronic coronary syndromes, venous thromboembolism, cardiomyopathies/heart failure, arrhythmia, valvular heart disease, peripheral arterial disease, and myocarditis. Many of these disease entities can be diagnosed by established cardiovascular diagnostic pathways. Nuclear medicine, however, has proven promising in the diagnosis of cardiomyopathies/heart failure, and peri- and myocarditis as well as arterial inflammation. This article first outlines the spectrum of cardiotoxic cancer therapies and the potential side effects. This will be complemented by the definition of cardiotoxicity using non-nuclear cardiovascular imaging (echocardiography, CMR) and biomarkers. Available nuclear imaging techniques are then presented and specific suggestions are made for their application and potential role in the diagnosis of cardiotoxicity.

Shining Damaged Hearts: Immunotherapy-Related Cardiotoxicity in the Spotlight of Nuclear Cardiology

The emerging use of immunotherapies in cancer treatment increases the risk of immunotherapy-related cardiotoxicity. In contrast to conventional chemotherapy, these novel therapies have expanded the forms and presentations of cardiovascular damage to a broad spectrum from asymptomatic changes to fulminant short- and long-term complications in terms of cardiomyopathy, arrythmia, and vascular disease. In cancer patients and, particularly, cancer patients undergoing (immune-)therapy, cardio-oncological monitoring is a complex interplay between pretherapeutic risk assessment, identification of impending cardiotoxicity, and post-therapeutic surveillance. For these purposes, the cardio-oncologist can revert to a broad spectrum of nuclear cardiological diagnostic workup. The most promising commonly used nuclear medicine imaging techniques in relation to immunotherapy will be discussed in this review article with a special focus on the continuous development of highly specific molecular markers and steadily improving methods of image generation. The review closes with an outlook on possible new developments of molecular imaging and advanced image evaluation techniques in this exciting and increasingly growing field of immunotherapy-related cardiotoxicity.

A Population-Based Study of Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in Italian Cancer Patients

Simple Summary

Research suggests that lengthening the prognosis in cancer patients (which is certainly a positive thing) requires greater attention to be paid to the onset of other pathologies. The increase in cardiovascular mortality in cancer patients (due to both exposure to risk factors and the side effects of cytotoxic drugs) requires greater collaboration between oncologists and cardiologists, and the integration of shared follow-up paths. Particular attention to the follow-up of cancer patients can reduce this risk: in the present study, patients presented an excessive risk of cardiovascular mortality only in the first two years from cancer diagnosis.

Abstract

The present research describes 25 years of cardiovascular mortality in a cohort of patients in Northern Italy. The study included patients with malignant cancer enrolled in the period of 1996–2019, and describes cardiovascular and cancer mortality in relation to sex, age, year of diagnosis, months of survivorship, tumor site, and standardized mortality ratio (SMR). Out of 67,173 patients, 38,272 deaths (57.7%) were recorded: 4466 from cardiovascular disease (CVD) (6.6%), and 28,579 (42.6%) from cancer. The proportion of CVD death increased from 4.5% in the first two years after diagnosis, to 7.3% after more than 10 years, while the proportion of deaths from cancer decreased from 70.5% to 9.4%. The CVD SMR comparing cancer patients with the general population was 0.87 (95% CI: 0.82–0.92) in 1996–1999, rising to 0.95 (95% CI: 0.84–1.08) in 2015–2019, without differences in terms of sex or age. The risk of dying from CVD was higher compared with the general population (SMR 1.31; 95% CI: 1.24–1.39) only in the first two years after diagnosis. The trend over time underscored that CVD deaths increased in patients with breast, bladder, prostate, and colorectal cancers, and, in the more recent period, for kidney cancer and melanoma patients. Our data confirmed that cardiovascular mortality is an important issue in the modern management of cancer patients, suggesting the need for an extensive interdisciplinary approach.