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Male breast cancer patients commonly showed signs of elevated cardiovascular risk, according to a small retrospective study of this rare population.
Cardiovascular risk factors highly prevalent among the 24 male breast cancer patients studied at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center included:
Overweight: 88% of patients
Hyperlipidemia: 54%
Before cancer treatment, 8% of patients had pre-existing tachyarrhythmias; during treatment, another 13% developed them. Cancer treatment was also followed by two people showing drops in ejection fraction and two developing heart failure.
Michael Ibrahim, BSc, fourth year medical student at Georgetown University, and collaborators reported their work at the American College of Cardiology s Advancing the Cardiovascular Care of the Oncology Patient virtual course.
Older patients with Hodgkin s lymphoma historically have inferior outcomes relative to their younger counterparts.
Individuals age 60 and over, who make up about 20% of the overall population, often have higher rates of advanced-stage disease at presentation. Comorbidities and decreased organ function may make them less likely to tolerate chemotherapy as well.
There s even evidence to suggest that Hodgkin s lymphoma has a different biology in this older group, with higher rates of mixed cellularity subtype and Epstein-Barr virus-associated disease. Furthermore, lower response and cure rates, as well as a greater risk of treatment-related death, have been reported with standard multi-agent regimens.
When it comes to treating older patients, geriatric assessments are a good place to start, said Andrew Evens, DO, MSc, of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey.