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Published on: June 5, 2019
Low heart rate variability relates to the progression of gastric cancer
Songjie Hu1, Jie Lou1, Youping Zhang1
1Department of Surgery, Ningbo No. 2 Hospital, Yongfeng Road, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, 315010, China.
Insights
Heart rate variability (HRV) is reduced in gastric cancer (GC) patients. This decrease in HRV correlates with advanced tumor stage and progression, suggesting a link to inflammatory responses.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Cardiology
- Oncology
Background:
- Gastric cancer (GC) presents a significant global health challenge due to high morbidity and mortality.
- Understanding biomarkers associated with GC progression is crucial for patient management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role and clinical significance of heart rate variability (HRV) in patients diagnosed with gastric cancer.
- To explore the correlation between HRV parameters and clinicopathological features of GC.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 383 consecutive gastric cancer patients diagnosed between January 2010 and June 2014.
- Measurement of HRV parameters, including standard deviation of normal-to-normal RR intervals (SDNN) and root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), using electrocardiography.
- Correlation analysis between HRV metrics and clinical/pathological data, including tumor stage, size, infiltration, and metastasis.
Main Results:
- Gastric cancer patients exhibited significantly lower HRV (SDNN: 19.02 ± 13.58 ms; RMSSD: 21.64 ± 17.57 ms) compared to reference values.
- HRV demonstrated a significant inverse correlation with advanced clinical stage (P < 0.0001) and tumor progression.
- Lower HRV was associated with increased tumor size, infiltration, lymph node metastasis, and distant metastasis (P < 0.001), but not tumor site or metastasis severity.
- C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were elevated in patients with low HRV (P = 0.008).
Conclusions:
- Reduced heart rate variability is a characteristic finding in gastric cancer patients.
- HRV serves as a potential indicator of tumor stage and progression in GC.
- The observed decrease in HRV may be linked to inflammatory processes modulated by vagal nerve activity during tumor progression.
Background:
Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignant gastrointestinal tumors with the high morbidity and mortality, affecting the quality of human life. This study aimed to identify the role of heart rate variability (HRV) in patients with GC.
Methods:
From January 2010 to June 2014, 383 consecutive patients diagnosed with GC were enrolled in this study. Clinical and pathological information from each patient were retrospectively recorded. HRV, including standard deviation of normal-to-normal RR intervals (SDNN) and root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), were measured by electrocardiography.
Results:
The results showed that the SDNN and RMSSD in GC patients were 19.02 ± 13.58 ms and 21.64 ± 17.57 ms, respectively. HRV decreased with advanced clinical stage (P < 0.0001). HRV correlated with tumor size, tumor infiltration, lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis (P < 0.001); however, no correlation with tumor site and metastasis severity was found (P > 0.05). C-reactive protein (CRP) was higher in the low HRV group than that in high HRV group (P = 0.008).
Conclusions:
GC patients showed a lower HRV that was correlated with tumor stage. HRV decreased with tumor progression, which may be related to a mechanism involving vagal nerve excitement inhibiting the inflammatory reaction.
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