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Published on: June 5, 2019
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Tracking Cancer: Exploring Heart Rate Variability Patterns by Cancer Location and Progression.
Kfir Ben-David1,2, Harrison L Wittels3,4, Michael J Wishon3
1Department of Surgery, Division of Oncology, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, FL 33140, USA.
Cancers
|March 13, 2024
Summary
Reduced heart rate variability (HRV) is linked to cancer. This study found lower HRV in cancer patients across common types and stages, suggesting HRV may help detect cancer non-invasively.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Oncology
- Autonomic Nervous System Research
Background:
- Reduced heart rate variability (HRV) is a marker of autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction.
- Previous studies indicated lower HRV in cancer patients, but evaluations were limited to specific cancer types.
- The autonomic nervous system's role in cancer progression and detection requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate heart rate variability (HRV) patterns in patients with various prevalent cancer types and stages.
- To compare HRV metrics between cancer patients and a non-cancer control group.
- To explore the potential of HRV as a non-invasive tool for cancer detection and staging.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 798 patients at a tertiary academic medical center.
- Measured HRV using an armband monitor, calculating time-domain metrics: SDNN, rMSSD, and pNN50.
- Compared HRV patterns between 399 cancer patients (various types and stages I-IV) and a control group using ANOVA models.
Main Results:
- Cancer patients exhibited significantly lower HRV metrics (rMSSD, SDNN, pNN50) compared to non-cancer controls across all evaluated cancer locations and stages.
- HRV differences were consistent across prevalent cancers (breast, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, respiratory) and stages (I-IV).
- Observed HRV patterns were independent of patient co-morbidities and did not significantly differ between cancer types.
Conclusions:
- Depressed HRV is a consistent finding across prevalent cancer types and stages, irrespective of co-morbidities.
- HRV shows potential as a non-invasive biomarker for identifying common cancer locations and stages.
- Further research is needed to refine HRV analysis across diverse demographics (age, sex, ethnicity).
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