High risk of cardiovascular disease in curatively treated patients with oesophageal cancer: a Danish cohort study

Abstract

Abstract Background The cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden among patients with oesophageal cancer (EC) treated with curative intent is unclear. Purpose To determine CVD incidence and all-cause mortality in patients with EC. Material and methods Danish national health registries were used to identify patients diagnosed with primary EC between 2008 and 2018. Each EC patient was matched with ten individuals from the general population. The primary endpoint was a CVD hospital contact (CVD-HC), either admission or outpatient contact. Secondary endpoints were all-cause mortality and five specific CVD endpoints evaluated separately: atrial fibrillation, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, perimyocarditis, and venous thromboembolism. Using registries, all endpoints were assessed up to ten years following the EC diagnosis. Results The study included 1,525 patients with EC matched to 15,250 individuals from the general population. Patients with EC had a post-diagnosis one-year adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of CVD-HCs of 6.1 (95% CI: 5.6 to 6.8) compared with the general population. During the next nine years, the risk of CVD-HC was comparable between the two cohorts with an adjusted HR of 1.0 (95% CI: 0.9 to 1.3) (Figure 1). Patients with EC, particularly those with prevalent CVD (29%) had a high risk of ischemic heart disease with a one-year HR of 6.2 (95% CI: 3.7 to 10.4). The risk of venous thromboembolism and atrial fibrillation was 14-fold and four-fold elevated within the first year after EC diagnosis compared to the general population. After EC diagnosis, all-cause mortality was, as expected, increased in patients with EC compared with the general population. However, prevalent CVD among patients with EC did not appear to be associated with higher all-cause mortality. Conclusion CVD morbidity was transiently increased in the first year following EC diagnosis compared with the general population. All-cause mortality risks were high but did not appear to be affected by prevalent CVD. The very high risk of CVD in curatively treated patients with EC calls for healthcare initiatives to advance preventive and post-treatment strategies. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: Foundation. Main funding source(s): The Danish Cancer SocietyCarpenter Jorgen Holm and Wife Elisa F. Hansen's Memorial Scholarship