If this is not your name, click here.
| | If this is not your name, click here. | | |
| | Contact Us | Order Now | Journals | Bookstore | Register a colleague | | |
| |  Cardiac Cormorbidities Prevalent in Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer Before Chemotherapy Initiation: Presented at ASBD By Karen Shoffner CHICAGO -- April 4, 2009 -- Cardiac comorbidities seem to be common in women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) before initiation of chemotherapy, according to a study presented here at the American Society of Breast Disease (ASBD) 33rd Annual Symposium. Because some MBC treatments are associated with cardiac toxicity, the information could be useful to healthcare professionals in guiding treatment decisions, according to coauthor R. Scott McKenzie, MD, Centocor Ortho Biotech Services LLC, Bridgewater, New Jersey, who presented the results of the study at a session on April 3. With observational data regarding cardiac comorbidities in these patients being sparse, the researchers sought to understand the frequency of such comorbidities. The study was based on the Medicare 5% Standard Analytical File, which represented about 2 million Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. Longitudinal data were based on Medicare paid claims. Claims not submitted to Medicare were not included in the study. The index quarter was defined as the date of initial chemotherapy after the diagnosis of MBC. The time frame of the study's index quarter was July 2001 to December 2006. Cardiac comorbidities were identified and recorded in mutually nonexclusive categories, if coded within 12 months before the index quarter. Comorbidities included hypertension, coronary artery disease (CAD), congestive heart failure (CHF), cardiac arrhythmias, and myocardial infarction (MI). Researchers identified 2,587 women with MBC with a mean age of 74.4 years. Of the patients, 76% reported at least 1 cardiac comorbidity, and 35% reported 2 or more cardiac comorbidities. Hypertension was present in 72% of patients, CAD in 26%, CHF in 17%, cardiac arrhythmias in 11%, and MI in 7% of the patients. Dr. McKenzie noted the study's limitations, which included subclinical or unreported comorbidities not being identified in the study's data set. In addition, differing patterns of cardiac comorbidities may be identified in non-Medicare populations, and cardiac comorbidity severity, etiology, and risk factors were not available. Dr. McKenzie indicated that further studies are warranted to characterise cardiac comorbidities in other populations. Funding for this study was provided by Centocor Ortho Biotech. [Presentation title: Cardiac Comorbidities in Women With Metastatic Breast Cancer Newly Initiated on Chemotherapy]
|
