Increased Cardiac Risk After a Second Malignant Neoplasm Among Childhood Cancer Survivors: A FCCSS Study

Background

Childhood cancer survivors (CCS) are at an elevated risk of developing both a second malignant neoplasm (SMN) and cardiac disease.

Objectives

This study sought to assess the excess of occurrence of cardiac disease after a SMN among CCS.

Methods

Analyses included 7,670 CCS from the French Childhood Cancer Survivors Study cohort diagnosed between 1945 and 2000. To account for the time dependence of the occurrence of a SMN, we employed a landmark approach, considering an additive regression model for the cumulative incidence of cardiac disease. We estimated the effect of a SMN on the instantaneous risk of cardiac disease using a proportional cause-specific hazard model, considering a SMN as a time-dependent exposure. In both models, we adjusted for demographic and treatment information and considered death as a competing event.

Results

In 7,670 CCS over a median follow-up of 30 years (IQR: 22-38 years), there were 378 cases of cardiac disease identified, of which 49 patients experienced a SMN. Patients who survived 25 years after their childhood cancer diagnosis and had a SMN in that time frame had a significantly increased cumulative incidence of cardiac disease, which was 3.8% (95% CI: 0.5% to 7.1%) higher compared with those without a SMN during this period. No SMN-induced excess of cardiac disease was observed at subsequent landmark times. SMNs were associated with a 2-fold increase (cause-specific HR: 2.0; 95% CI: 1.4-2.8) of cardiac disease.

Conclusions

The occurrence of a SMN among CCS is associated with an increased risk of cardiac disease occurrence and risk at younger ages.