Clinical evaluation and outcome in heart failure patients receiving chemotherapy with different anti-cancer agents

The optimal strategy for modern chemotherapy should be based on a comprehensive approach for cancer patients with cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, cardio-oncology has received increasing attention owing to the cardiotoxic effects of anti-cancer therapies.

We aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with heart failure (HF) who received chemotherapy compared with those of a matched cohort with HF who did not receive chemotherapy, using real-world HF data.

This study was based on the Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC) database of the Japanese Registry of All Cardiac and Vascular Diseases (JROAD). We identified 1 328 113 patients who were hospitalized for HF between April 2012 and March 2021. The propensity score (PS) was estimated using a logistic regression model, with chemotherapy as the dependent variable, and a clinically score-matched analysis of 11 532 patients with HF with or without chemotherapy. The primary endpoint was readmission.

Colon, lung, breast and prostate cancers accounted for >60% of all cancer types. After PS matching, readmission was significantly more frequently observed in patients with chemotherapy than those without [odds ratio (OR), 1.26; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.17-1.36, P < 0.01]. In particular, treatment with epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) (OR, 1.69; 95% CI 1.39-2.07), taxane (OR, 2.95; 95% CI 2.11-4.12), anthracyclines (OR, 1.86; 95% CI 1.19-2.90) and fluorouracil agents (OR, 1.65; 95% CI 1.18-2.30) caused a higher risk of readmission.

Medical providers need to monitor and follow-up patients with HF, depending on the characteristics of the anti-cancer agents and types of cancer.