Abstract
Patients with cancer face a high short-term risk of arterial thromboembolism. One of the most fatal manifestations of arterial thromboembolism is myocardial infarction (MI), and patients with cancer face a 3-fold greater risk of MI than patients without cancer. The individual risk for arterial thrombotic events in patients with cancer is determined by the complex interaction of baseline cardiovascular risk factors, cancer type and stage, chemotherapeutic regimen, and other general contributing factors for thrombosis. Managing MI in patients with cancer is a clinical challenge, particularly due to cancer's unique pathophysiology, which makes it difficult to balance thrombotic and bleeding risks in this specific patient population. When patients with cancer present with MI, a limited proportion are treated with guideline-recommended therapy, such as antiplatelet therapy or invasive revascularization. Despite the limited evidence, existing reports consistently suggest similar clinical benefits of guideline-recommended therapy when administered to patients with cancer presenting with MI. In this review, we briefly summarize the available evidence, clinical challenges, and future perspectives on simultaneous management of MI and cancer, with a focus on invasive strategy.
Introduction
Advances in cancer treatments have significantly contributed to a decline in cancer-specific mortality rates; as a result, cardiovascular disease has become the leading cause of death among cancer patients (). The incidence of myocardial infarction (MI), in particular, is higher in patients with active cancer compared to those without cancer (). The increased risk of thrombotic events in cancer patients is partially attributable to the pro-coagulant state in this population, and partially due to the adverse effects of some chemotherapeutic agents (). Data from a nationwide Swedish report indicated that the overall incidence of coronary heart disease was 152 per 100,000 person year in patients with cancer compared with 143 per 100,000 person year in patients without cancer, with the risk of heart disease being more prominent during the first 6 months post-cancer diagnosis than in the periods following this 6-month time window (). Navi et al. reported similar findings from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)–Medicare database; patients with cancer have a 3-fold greater risk of MI when compared with patients without cancer (6-month cumulative incidence of 2.0 vs. 0.7%, respectively; hazard ratio, HR, 2.9 [95% confidence interval, CI, 2.8–3.1]) (). Although there is increasing recognition that cancer and heart disease coexist, there are limited data on how to optimally manage these high-risk patients with both comorbidities. In this mini review, we provide an overview of the pathophysiologic mechanism, presentation, and management of MI in patients with cancer, with a particular focus on invasive strategy.
Possible Mechanisms Causing Increased MI Risk in Patients With Cancer
The individual risk for arterial thrombotic events in cancer patients is determined by the complex interaction of multiple elements including baseline cardiovascular risk factors, cancer type and stage, chemotherapeutic regimen, and other general contributing factors for thrombosis (). Conventional cardiovascular risk factors such as age, hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking, and diabetes are often present in cancer patients. Lupus anticoagulant and hyperhomocysteinemia are other known contributing risk factors of arterial thrombosis (). Additionally, the risk of arterial thrombosis substantially varies among different types of cancer. Navi et al. have shown that patients with lung, gastric, or pancreatic cancers had the highest rates of arterial thrombotic events, including MI and stroke (). Among hematologic malignancies, patients with multiple myeloma have an increased risk of arterial thrombosis ().
Aside from clinical factors, biological factors produced by tumor cells also contribute to activate hemostatic system in cancer patients. Cancer cells can activate the hemostatic system through the expression of pro-coagulant factors including tissue factor and cancer pro-coagulant, release of inflammatory cytokines (i.e., TNF-α, IL-1β) and microparticles, and adhesion to host vascular cells (Figure 1) (–).
Figure 1
Tissue factor, constitutively expressed on the malignant cell surface of a variety of cancers, plays an important role in thrombin by forming a complex with factor VIIa, triggering blood coagulation by activating factor IX and factor X. Unlike tissue factor, cancer procoagulant, another procoagulant factor, directly activates factor X independently of factor VII.
Microparticles, small plasma membrane vesicles, are also released by tumor cells and associated with hypercoagulable state of cancer. Their mechanism is related to intravascular thrombin generation by exposure of phosphatidylserine and procoagulant proteins such as tissue factor. In addition, tumor cells release inflammatory cytokines, which can stimulate the prothrombotic features of vascular cells.
Several chemotherapy agents are known to increase the risk of myocardial ischemia through different mechanisms, including direct vasospastic effect, endothelial injury, acute arterial thrombosis, and the long-term effect on lipid metabolism, resulting in plaque destabilization. (Table 1) (
Table 1
| Agent | Pathophysiological mechanism |
|---|---|
| Fluoropyrimidines (5-FU, capecitabine, gemcitabine) | Endothelial injury Vasospasm |
| Anti-microtubule agents (paclitaxel, docetaxel) | Vasospasm |
| Platinum compounds (cisplatin) | Procoagulant status Arterial thrombosis |
| Antitumor antibody (bleomycin) | Endothelial injury |
| Vinca alkaloids (vincristine) | Endothelial apoptosis |
| VEGF inhibitors (bevacizumab, sorafenib, sunitinib) | Procoagulant status Arterial thrombosis Endothelial injury |
| Radiotherapy | Endothelial injury Plaque rupture Thrombosis |
Pathophysiological mechanisms of myocardial ischemia related to cancer treatment.
Capecitabine- and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-associated cardiotoxicity is often overlooked, but both drugs are known to increase the risk of MI, especially when administered with a continuous 24-h 5-FU + leucovorin infusion for 5 days (
Clinical Manifestation
Cancer patients may experience different presentations of an acute MI. A University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report highlighted how symptoms can be atypical in cancer patients, with dyspnea (rather than chest pain) being the most common presentation (
How to Manage MI in Cancer Patients
Prevention
Ischemic workup should be done in high-risk patients to detect pre-existing coronary artery disease, which is known to be a risk factor for chemotherapy-induced MI, before administering cancer drugs known to cause cardiac ischemia (Table 1) (
Medical Therapy
There are limited data that sufficiently address the management of cardiac ischemic disease in patients with cancer. Especially in an acute phase, there is scant data regarding optimal management for cancer patients presenting with MI. Further studies are warranted to clarify optimal antithrombotic regimen, such as unfractionated heparin vs. low molecular heparin vs. bivalirudin. Aspirin and beta-blockers are the primary drugs used to treat patients with MI in acute and chronic settings, but it is unknown if the safety and efficacy of aspirin and beta-blockers is equally preserved in cancer patients. Yusuf et al. retrospectively analyzed 456 cancer patients with MI, including 70 who presented with STEMI (
Invasive Management
Cancer patients with MI are less likely to be treated with catheter-based revascularization (i.e., PCI), even for STEMI. The MD Anderson Cancer Center found that among 456 cancer patients with MI, only 11 (2.8%) underwent PCI. Of those presenting with STEMI, only 5.7% underwent PCI (
To date, there are several moderate-scale observational studies comparing clinical outcomes between patients with and without a history of cancer undergoing PCI (
The Bleeding Complications in a Multicenter Registry of Patients Discharged after an Acute Coronary Syndrome (BleeMACS) project (N = 15,401; history of cancer, 6.4%), which was an international multicenter observational registry with 15 participating hospitals. BleeMACS compared the clinical outcomes of patients with and without cancer, who were also diagnosed with ACS and treated with PCI (
When PCI is considered as a treatment option for cancer patients presenting with MI, higher risk of stent thrombosis should be taken into account. Several registries have demonstrated an underlying hypercoagulable state that predisposes cancer patients to a higher risk of stent thrombosis. The Dutch Stent Thrombosis Registry found that active cancer was associated with stent thrombosis (
Intervention: Choice of Devices
Stent implantation undoubtedly remains the gold standard of PCI. Bare metal stents (BMS) were initially favored for patients with a high bleeding risk who were not able to tolerate prolonged DAPT; however, due to the development of drug-eluting stents (DES), prolonged duration of DAPT after DES placement is no longer necessary. The 2017 European Society of Cardiology Focused Update on Dual Antiplatelet Therapy in Coronary Artery Disease recommends 6 months of DAPT after stent implantation post-ACS event in patients with a high bleeding risk, regardless of stent type (
Drug-coated balloon (DCB) is also an emerging technology in the field of PCI. Recently, the Basel Kosten Effektivitäts Trial–Drug-Coated Balloons vs. Drug-Eluting Stents in Small Vessel Interventions (BASKET-SMALL2) trial demonstrated the non-inferiority of DCB compared to DES regarding major adverse cardiovascular events (composite of cardiac death, non-fatal MI, and target-vessel revascularization) up to 12 months in PCIs for de novo lesions (<3 mm in diameter) in coronary vessels (
Intervention: Access Site
Another important key to reducing bleeding complications is appropriate access site selection. Given the high bleeding risk in patients with cancer, appropriate access site selection is particularly critical. In terms of reducing bleeding complications, radial access is generally considered favorable to femoral. There is no favored access site recommendation in the current 2013 American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF)/AHA Guideline for the Management of ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (
Patient With Thrombocytopenia
Cancer patients frequently develop thrombocytopenia after chemotherapy, with an incidence ranging from 10 to 25% (
Conclusion
In cancer patients, endothelial dysfunction that is caused by the cancer cell(s) itself, as well as chemotherapeutics, promotes platelet aggregation, which results in an increased risk of arterial thrombosis (including MI). Optimal management of MI among patients with cancer remains a clinical challenge. Available evidence is only derived from small- or moderate-sized observational data; there are currently no randomized clinical trials investigating the optimal management of cancer patients at high risk for thrombosis. The studies that do exist contain inconsistent definitions of cancer, making it difficult to compare them to each other, and challenging to combine datasets. Looking to the future, prospective studies that involve cardiologists and oncologists who agree to universal definitions of MI and cancer will enhance our understanding of the best way to treat this high-risk population. Device improvement may enable the wide application of invasive management to this specific patient population, but further evidence is needed to optimally treat patients with cancer and MI.
Statements
Author contributions
TI and CM contributed the study concept and design. TI contributed the manuscript drafting. AE and CM contributed the critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content, as well as the study supervision.
Acknowledgments
We acknowledge Erin Campbell, MS (Duke Clinical Research Institute) for her editorial contributions.
Conflict of interest
TI discloses the following relationships—Research Grant: JSPS Overseas Research fellowship and Boston Scientific. CM's disclosure can be viewed in the Supplementary Data Sheet 1. The remaining author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Supplementary material
The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2019.00057/full#supplementary-material
Data Sheet 1CM's disclosure.
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Summary
Keywords
myocardial infarction, cancer, arterial thrombosis, chemotherapy, invasive strategy
Citation
Inohara T, Endo A and Melloni C (2019) Unmet Needs in Managing Myocardial Infarction in Patients With Malignancy. Front. Cardiovasc. Med. 6:57. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2019.00057
Received
30 November 2018
Accepted
23 April 2019
Published
17 May 2019
Volume
6 - 2019
Edited by
Anna Falanga, Ospedale Papa Giovanni XXIII, Italy
Reviewed by
Plinio Cirillo, University of Naples Federico II, Italy; Valerio De Stefano, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy
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© 2019 Inohara, Endo and Melloni.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Chiara Melloni chiara.melloni@duke.edu
This article was submitted to Atherosclerosis and Vascular Medicine, a section of the journal Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine
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