The incidence of atrial fibrillation shortly following radiation therapy in patients with lung cancer: A population-based study.

Abstract

e18796 Background: Lung cancer is the third most common cause cancer in the US. Although radiation therapy (RT) is one of the most common treatment modalities for lung cancer. RT-induced atrial fibrillation (AFib) is understudied. We examined the relationship between different types of RT and AFib incidence. Methods: Lung cancer patients receiving RT were identified from the SEER-Medicare linked data between 2010 and 2015. Patients with 12 months continuous Part A and B coverage prior to RT were included. Patients were excluded if they lost coverage, were enrolled in HMOs, aged < 65 years old, or diagnosed at death, had malignant effusion or pre-existing AFib. RT was identified as IMRT (HCPCS: 77301, 77418, G0174, G0178, 0073T), or non-IMRT related external beam radiation (HCPCS: 77290, 76370, 77014, 77295, 77280, 77285, CPT: 77402–77416, 77427). AFib was identified within 30 days of initiating RT using ICD-10 codes. Continuous variables were summarized by mean and standard deviation; categorical variables by frequency and percentage. Student’s t-test was used to compare continuous data between groups. Pearson’s chi-square test was used to compare categorical data between groups. Results: We identified 3,499 lung cancer patients receiving radiation. Of these, 830 were diagnosed with AFib after RT. The type of RT (IMRT vs non-IMRT) and type of hilar involvement were both associated with the incidence of AFib in these patients (Table). Conclusions: This is the first population based study to identify factors associated with increased AFib incidence in lung cancer patients receiving radiation. Further studies are warranted to better understand these associations.[Table: see text]