Valor pronóstico diferencial de la galectina-3 según los valores de antígeno carbohidrato 125 para el implante percutáneo de válvula aórtica

Prognostic role of CA-125 in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become a widely used therapy for patients with severe aortic stenosis. Carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA-125) is a promising biomarker in some cardiovascular diseases. This systematic review aims to assess the prognostic role of CA-125 in patients undergoing TAVR. We searched electronic databases from inception to March 2023 to include cohort studies evaluating the association between preprocedural CA-125 levels and mortality or heart failure (HF) readmission at 12 months in patients undergoing TAVR. We pooled crude (cHR) and adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) with their 95% confidence interval (CI) using a random-effects model. The risk of bias was evaluated using the QUIPS tool. The certainty of the evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach. We included five cohort studies involving 1594 patients. Higher levels of CA-125 were significantly associated with an increased risk of mortality or HF readmission using crude (cHR 2.79, 95% CI 1.45-5.36, I2  =  72%) and adjusted (aHR 3.27, 95% CI 2.07-5.18, I2  =  0%, high certainty) effect estimates compared with lower levels. Similarly, there was also associated with increased mortality using crude (cHR 2.68, 95% CI 1.99-3.60, I2  =  0%) and adjusted (aHR 2.17, 95% CI 1.54-3.07, I2  =  0%, high certainty) effect estimates. The risk of bias varied between low to moderate across studies. Our meta-analysis suggests that CA-125 has incremental prognostic value in patients undergoing TAVR. Further studies are needed to determine the clinical utility of CA-125 in guiding treatment decisions in this population.

Severe Aortic Valve Stenosis and Pulmonary Hypertension: A Systematic Review of Non-Invasive Ways of Risk Stratification, Especially in Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement

Patients with severe aortic valve stenosis and concomitant pulmonary hypertension show a significantly reduced survival prognosis. Right heart catheterization as a preoperative diagnostic tool to determine pulmonary hypertension has been largely abandoned in recent years in favor of echocardiographic criteria. Clinically, determination of echocardiographically estimated systolic pulmonary artery pressure falls far short of invasive right heart catheterization data in terms of accuracy. The aim of the present systematic review was to highlight noninvasive possibilities for the detection of pulmonary hypertension in patients with severe aortic valve stenosis, with a special focus on cardiovascular biomarkers. A total of 525 publications regarding echocardiography, cardiovascular imaging and biomarkers related to severe aortic valve stenosis and pulmonary hypertension were analyzed in a systematic database analysis using PubMed Central®. Finally, 39 publications were included in the following review. It was shown that the current scientific data situation, especially regarding cardiovascular biomarkers as non-invasive diagnostic tools for the determination of pulmonary hypertension in severe aortic valve stenosis patients, is poor. Thus, there is a great scientific potential to combine different biomarkers (biomarker scores) in a non-invasive way to determine the presence or absence of PH.

Deoxyribonuclease is prognostic in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement

Degenerative aortic valve stenosis is an inflammatory process that resembles atherosclerosis. Neutrophils release their DNA upon activation and form neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which are present on degenerated aortic valves. NETs correlate with pressure gradients in severe aortic stenosis. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is an established treatment option for aortic valve stenosis. Bioprosthetic valve deterioration promoted by inflammatory, fibrotic and thrombotic processes limits outcome. Deoxyribonuclease is a natural counter mechanism to degrade DNA in circulation. In the present observational study, we investigated plasma levels of double-stranded DNA, deoxyribonuclease activity and outcome after TAVR. 345 consecutive patients undergoing TAVR and 100 healthy reference controls were studied. Double-stranded DNA was measured by fluorescence assays in plasma obtained at baseline and after TAVR. Deoxyribonuclease activity was measured at baseline using single radial enzyme diffusion assays. Follow-up was performed at 12 months, and mean aortic pressure gradient and survival were evaluated. Receiver operating characteristic, Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression models were calculated. Baseline double-stranded DNA in plasma was significantly higher compared to healthy controls, was increased at 3 and 7 days after TAVR, and declined thereafter. Baseline deoxyribonuclease activity was decreased compared to healthy controls. Interestingly, low deoxyribonuclease activity correlated with higher C-reactive protein and higher mean transaortic gradient after 12 months. Finally, deoxyribonuclease activity was a strong independent predictor of outcome 12 months after TAVR. Deoxyribonuclease activity is a potential biomarker for risk stratification after TAVR. Pathomechanisms of bioprosthetic valve deterioration involving extracellular DNA and deoxyribonuclease merit investigation.

Biomarkers Associated with Mortality in Aortic Stenosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The optimal timing of aortic valve replacement (AVR) remains controversial. Several biomarkers reflect the underlying pathophysiological processes in aortic stenosis (AS) and may be of use as mortality predictors. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to evaluate the blood biomarkers utilised in AS and assess whether they associate with mortality. PubMed and Embase were searched for studies reporting baseline biomarker level and mortality outcomes in patients with AS. A total of 83 studies met the inclusion criteria and were systematically reviewed. Of these, 21 reporting brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), Troponin and Galectin-3 were meta-analysed. Pooled analysis demonstrated that all-cause mortality was significantly associated with elevated baseline levels of BNP (HR 2.59; 95% CI 1.95–3.44; p < 0.00001), NT-proBNP (HR 1.73; 95% CI 1.45–2.06; p = 0.00001), Troponin (HR 1.65; 95% CI 1.31–2.07; p < 0.0001) and Galectin-3 (HR 1.82; 95% CI 1.27–2.61; p < 0.001) compared to lower baseline biomarker levels. Elevated levels of baseline BNP, NT-proBNP, Troponin and Galectin-3 were associated with increased all-cause mortality in a population of patients with AS. Therefore, a change in biomarker level could be considered to refine optimal timing of intervention. The results of this meta-analysis highlight the importance of biomarkers in risk stratification of AS, regardless of symptom status.

Additive prognostic value of carbohydrate antigen-125 over frailty in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement

BACKGROUND

To evaluate the additive prognostic value of myocardial, inflammatory, and renal biomarkers according to frailty status in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for aortic stenosis (AS).

METHODS

A total of 111 subjects who underwent TAVR at Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Argentina between January 2016 and December 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Plasma levels of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), high sensitivity troponin T (hs-cTnT), C-reactive protein (CRP), cystatin-c (Cys-C) and carbohydrate antigen-125 (CA-125) were assessed prior to TAVR. Frailty status was assessed according to the fried physical frailty phenotype (FPFP). The primary endpoint was defined as all-cause death and/or readmission for worsening congestive heart failure (CHF) within the first year after TAVR.

RESULTS

Of the 111 patients included, 48/111 (43%) were considered to be "frail" according to the FPFP. Among biomarkers, we found CA-125 to be strongly associated with the primary endpoint (p = .006). CA-125 ≥ 18.2 U/ml was present in 41% and was associated with a higher rate of the primary endpoint (31% vs. 9%; p = .003). After multivariable adjustment, CA-125 ≥ 18.2 U/ml (hazard ratio [HR] 3.17; p = .024) was the only independent predictor of the primary endpoint. Finally, the inclusion of CA-125 to frailty significantly improved C-index (0.68-0.74; p < .05), and provided a Net Reclassification Improvement (NRI) of 0.34 (95% CI 0.19-0.49, p = .031), largely through reductions in risk estimates among pre-frail and frail patients.

CONCLUSIONS

CA-125, a tumor biomarker, outperformed frailty for predicting the primary endpoint within the first year after TAVR.

Preprocedural circulating galectin-3 and the risk of mortality after transcatheter aortic valve replacement: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Galectin-3 may predict mortality for patients with aortic stenosis (AS) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). However, the results were inconsistent. We aimed to evaluate the association between baseline galectin and mortality after TAVR in a meta-analysis.

Methods: Related follow-up studies were obtained by systematic search of PubMed, Cochrane’s Library, and Embase databases. Both the fixed- and the random-effect models were used for the meta-analysis. Subgroup analyses were performed to evaluate the influences of study characteristics on the outcome.

Results: Five prospective cohort studies with 854 patients were included, with a follow-up period between 1 and 1.9 years. Patients with higher baseline circulating galectin-3 had an increased risk of all-cause mortality after TAVR (random-effects model: risk ratio [RR]: 1.63, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.19–2.23, P=0.002; fixed-effects model: RR: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.19–2.20, P=0.002; I² = 4%). Adjustment of estimated glomerular filtration rate (RR: 1.73, P=0.02) or B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) or N-terminal pro-BNP (RR: 1.83, P=0.02) did not significantly affect the result. A trend of stronger association between higher baseline circulating galectin-3 and increased risk of all-cause mortality after TAVR was observed in studies with an enzyme-linked fluorescent assay (ELFA) (RR: 3.04, P=0.003) compared with those with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (RR: 1.42, P=0.04; P for subgroup difference =0.06).

Conclusion: Higher circulating galectin-3 before the procedure may predict all-cause mortality of AS patients after TAVR.