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Childhood Cancer Survivors Have High Risk for Mortality After Cardiovascular Events

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on March 13, 2024.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, March 13, 2024 -- Childhood cancer survivors have a high risk for mortality after major cardiovascular events, according to a study published in the Feb. 27 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Wendy Bottinor, M.D., from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, and colleagues examined the risk for mortality after a major cardiovascular event among childhood cancer survivors and siblings in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study and participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study.

The researchers found that 1,780 survivors and 91 siblings among 25,658 childhood cancer survivors and 5,051 siblings had a cardiovascular event. Ten-year all-cause mortalities were 30, 36, and 29 percent after heart failure, coronary artery disease (CAD), and stroke among survivors versus 14, 14, and 4 percent, respectively, among siblings. Among childhood cancer survivors, all-cause mortality risks were increased after heart failure, CAD, and stroke (hazard ratios, 7.32, 5.54, and 3.57, respectively). There was an increase in CAD-specific mortality risk (hazard ratio, 3.70). Three hundred forty-five of the 5,114 CARDIA participants had a major event. At events, CARDIA participants were on average decades older (median age, 57 versus 31 years), but mortality risks were similar, with the exception of increased all-cause mortality after CAD among childhood cancer survivors (hazard ratio, 1.85).

"This study supports the concept that survivors of childhood cancer experience what appears like accelerated aging, where their overall medical profiles are similar to people who are 10 or more years older," Bottinor said in a statement.

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

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Posted March 2024

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