Risk of cardiovascular events in patients with atrial fibrillation and cancer. Data from the ATHERO-AF cohort

Abstract

Abstract Background Patients with non valvular atrial fibrillation (AF) and cancer represent a high-risk subgroup of patients in whom the management of oral anticoagulation may be challenging. The relationship between cancer type and the risk of cardiovascular events (CVEs) in patients with AF is unclear. Purpose To investigate the incidence of CVEs in patients with AF and cancer according to cancer type. Methods Prospective cohort study including 2,092 consecutive AF patients on vitamin K antagonists. Principal endpoint was the occurrence of CVEs including fatal/non-fatal myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke and cardiovascular death. We also performed a subgroup analysis of cardiac and thromboembolic events separately. Patients with cancer were divided in subgroups based on cancer site as follows: group 1 gastrointestinal tract; group 2 respiratory tract; group 3 genitourinary tract; group 4 other sites. Results Mean age was 73.7±9.1 years and 42.1% were woman; 367 (17.5%) had cancer, of these 21% gastro-intestinal, 10% respiratory, 28% genito-urinary and 41% had other localization. Patients with cancer were older than those without but with similar clinical characteristics. During a mean follow up of 35.9±28.0 months (6264.5 patient-years), 203 CVEs occurred (3.24%/year, 95% CI 2.81–3.72) of whom 86 were cardiac ischemia (1.37%/year, 95% CI 1.10–1.69), 70 thromboembolic events (1.12%/year, 95% CI 0.87–1.41) and 47 cardiovascular deaths (0.75%/year, 95% CI 0.55–0.99). The incidence of CVEs for AF patients with and without cancer was respectively (n=45, 3.78%, 95% CI 2.76–5.06) and (n=158, 3.11%/year, 95% CI 2.65–3.64). In particular, compared to patients without cancer, a higher incidence rate of CVEs was found in patients with gastrointestinal tract cancer (5.61%/year, 95% CI 2.90–9.79, p=0.046), and in patients with respiratory tract cancer (6.15%/year, 95% CI 2.66–12.1, p=0.055), while no difference was found in patients with genito-urinary tract cancer (2.24%/year, 95% CI 0.97–4.41, p=0.362) and other site cancer (3.11%/year, 95% CI 2.65–3.64, p=0.512). Cox regression multivariate analysis showed that factors associated with cardiac events were COPD, dyslipidemia, TTR <70%, PPI drugs and gastrointestinal cancer (figure). Conversely, CHA2DS2VASc score and respiratory cancer were predictors of thromboembolic events. Conclusions Our findings suggest an association between cancer type and specific ischemic complications in AF patients. In particular, we found a higher risk of cardiac complications in patients with gastrointestinal cancer and of thromboembolic events in patients with respiratory cancer. These associations need to be confirmed in larger studies. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None