ABSTRACT
AIMS: Oncological patients suspected at risk for cardiotoxicity are recommended to undergo intensified cardiological surveillance. We investigated the value of cardiac biomarkers and patient-related risk factors [age, cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs), and cardiac function] for the prediction of all-cause mortality (ACM) and the development of cardiotoxicity. METHODS AND RESULTS: Between January 2016 and December 2020, patients with oncological diseases admitted to the Cardio-Oncology Unit at the Heidelberg University Hospital were included. They were evaluated by medical history, physical examination, 12-lead electrocardiogram, 2D echocardiography, and cardiac biomarkers [high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP)]. The primary endpoint was defined as ACM and the secondary endpoint was defined as cardiotoxicity, as defined by the European Society of Cardiology. Of the 1971 patients enrolled, the primary endpoint was reached by 490 patients (25.7%) with a median of 363.5 [interquartile range (IQR) 121.8, 522.5] days after presentation. Hs-cTnT of ≥ 7 ng/L [odds ratio (OR) 1.82, P < 0.001] and NT-proBNP (OR 1.98, P < 0.001) were independent predictors of ACM, while reduced left ventricular ejection fraction was not associated with increased ACM (P = 0.85). The secondary endpoint was reached by 182 patients (9.2%) with a median of 793.5 [IQR 411.2, 1165.0] days. Patients with multiple CVRFs (defined as high risk, n = 886) had an increased risk of cardiotoxicity (n = 100/886, 11.3%; hazard ratio 1.57, P = 0.004). They showed elevated baseline values of hs-cTnT (OR 1.60, P = 0.006) and NT-proBNP (OR 4.00, P < 0.001) and had an increased risk of ACM (OR 1.43, P = 0.031). CONCLUSIONS: In cancer patients, CVRF accumulation predicts cardiotoxicity whereas elevated hs-cTnT or NT-proBNP levels are associated with ACM. Accordingly, less intensive surveillance protocols may be warranted in patients with low cardiac biomarker levels and absence of CVRFs.
Subject(s)
Cardiology , Cardiovascular System , Neoplasms , Humans , Cardiotoxicity/etiology , Biomarkers , Neoplasms/complications , Neoplasms/drug therapyABSTRACT
AIMS: Cardio-oncology is a growing interdisciplinary field which aims to improve cardiological care for cancer patients in order to reduce morbidity and mortality. The impact of cardiac biomarkers, echocardiographic parameters, and cardiological assessment regarding risk stratification is still unclear. We aimed to identify potential parameters that allow an early risk stratification of cancer patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this cohort study, we evaluated 930 patients that were admitted to the cardio-oncology outpatient clinic of the University Hospital Heidelberg from January 2016 to January 2019. We performed echocardiography, including Global Longitudinal Strain (GLS) analysis and measured cardiac biomarkers including N-terminal pro brain-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels (hs-cTnT). Most patients were suffering from breast cancer (n = 450, 48.4%), upper gastrointestinal carcinoma (n = 99, 10.6%) or multiple myeloma (n = 51, 5.5%). At the initial visit, we observed 86.7% of patients having a preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF >50%). At the second follow up, still 78.9% of patients showed a preserved LVEF. Echocardiographic parameters or elevation of NT-proBNP did not significantly correlate with all-cause mortality (ACM) (logistic regression LVEF <50%: P = 0.46, NT-proBNP: P = 0.16) and failed to identify high-risk patients. In contrast, hs-cTnT above the median (≥7 ng/L) was an independent marker to determine ACM (multivariant logistic regression, OR: 2.21, P = 0.0038) among all included patients. In particular, hs-cTnT levels before start of a chemotherapy were predictive for ACM. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our non-selected cohort of cardio-oncological patients, hs-cTnT was able to identify patients with high mortality by using a low cutoff of 7 ng/L. We conclude that measurement of hs-cTnT is an important tool to stratify the risk for mortality of cancer patients before starting chemotherapy.
