Chemotherapy doubles the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients battling cancer

Pharma News: A new study highlights alarming health risks for cancer survivors, indicating they are more susceptible to stroke, heart attack, and hospital treatment for heart failure, particularly if they have undergone chemotherapy.

Led by Dr Suzanne Orchard and first author Jaidyn Muhandiramge, the research team analysed data from the ASPREE study, along with an embedded Cancer Treatment Substudy, which monitored the health of adults aged 70 and older living in Australia and the US.

While previous studies have linked cancer treatment to cardiovascular diseases, this research uniquely examines the impacts of various types of cancer and treatment methods.

The findings revealed that the rates of stroke, heart attack, and hospital admissions for heart failure were alarmingly higher – twice as high, in fact – among those who developed cancer compared to those who did not, with 20.8 events per 1,000 person-years versus 10.3. This increased risk persisted even after controlling for traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors.

Notably, the incidence of cardiovascular disease following a cancer diagnosis was highest among patients with metastatic, blood, and lung cancers. Chemotherapy was found to double the risk of cardiovascular events compared to other cancer treatments.

While results regarding other systemic therapies – including hormonal, targeted, and immunotherapy – as well as radiation therapy were inconclusive, it is worth noting that thoracic radiation has been shown to elevate risk. Interestingly, the study found that aspirin did not affect the incidence of cardiovascular disease following cancer.

Dr Orchard emphasised the implications of these findings as more individuals survive cancer, highlighting the need for awareness of the long-term effects of cancer and its treatments.

“The results underline how important early screening and prevention are in avoiding and minimising cardiovascular events after cancer diagnosis and treatment,” she stated.

“It’s positive that more people are surviving cancer and living a long life. But it means we have a growing cohort of older people who could be at risk of health conditions related to the illness itself as well as from its treatment.”

This study adds to the growing body of data that shows those who have experienced cancer and cancer treatment face elevated risk of cardiovascular disease.

“While this is unwelcome news for cancer patients, the cardiovascular risk can be mitigated by early screening and preventative measures,” Dr Orchard stated.

In reimagining healthcare, Health Industry Hub^TM is the ONLY one-stop-hub uniting the diversity of Pharma, MedTech, Diagnostics & Biotech sectors to inspire meaningful change. The exclusive leadership and influencer podcasts and vodcasts offer unparalleled insights and add immense value to our breaking news coverage.

The Health Industry Hub^TM content is copyright protected. Access is available under individual user licenses. Please click here to subscribe and visit T&Cs here.