Researchers from Belgium have found that patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICR) have a higher risk of a cardiovascular accident. This appears to be the case especially in people with a history of cardiovascular disease. science magazine Journal of Clinical Oncology published the study recently.
It has been known for some time that some cardiovascular side effects may occur with treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors. However, whether there is an association between major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and treatment with ICR has not yet been investigated. A retrospective analysis of existing clinical studies may shed new light on the matter.
Study design
The analysis included data from 672 cancer patients, with a median age of 65 years, and with 64.7% men. All of these patients were treated with ICRs, and the follow-up was 13 months. The rate of cardiovascular events was compared with that of untreated cancer patients, and with the general population (matched for age, gender, cancer type and history of cardiovascular disease). Primary endpoints of the study were the occurrence of MACE, secondary endpoints were acute coronary artery disease and heart failure.
The incidence of MACE was 10.3% during the 13-month follow-up. Multivariate analysis showed that a history of cardiovascular disease (HR 2.27; 95%CI, 1.03-5.04; p=0.043) and valvular failure (HR 3.01; 95%CI, 1.05- 8.88; p=0.041) involved a significant association with MACE. The cumulative incidence of MACE was greater in cancer patients treated with ICRs than in cancer patients not receiving this treatment.
Conclusion
The researchers believe that the findings show an increased risk of serious cardiovascular disease in cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors. They recommend that a cardiovascular evaluation be performed before initiating this treatment, especially in patients with a history of cardiovascular disease.
Reference
Laenens D, Yu Y, Santens B, Jacobs J, et al. Incidence of Cardiovascular Events in Patients Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors. J Clin Oncol. 2022 Jun 30:JCO2101808.