Evaluating the long-term risk of cardiovascular mortality in lymphoma survivors

This study investigated the long-term risk of cardiovascular mortality (death due to heart and blood vessel disease) among lymphoma survivors, compared to the general population. This study concluded that lymphoma survivors have a higher cardiovascular mortality risk compared to the general population. 

Advances in cancer treatment have improved survival outcomes for patients with Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). However, some therapies may be associated with developing chronic diseases later in life. Heart disease is one such complication.

Previous studies have investigated how often heart disease occurs in lymphoma survivors. Whether lymphoma survivors have a higher cardiovascular mortality risk compared to the general population remains under investigation.

This study analyzed the results of 27 studies. These studies involved 61,593 participants who had either HL (76%) or NHL (24%). Patients were followed-up for an average of 13.8 years.

Overall, 2.01% (HL) and 0.34% (NHL) of patients experienced fatal cardiovascular events during follow-up. Patients who had been treated for lymphoma had 7.31 times (HL) and 5.35 times (NHL) more deaths due to heart disease compared to the general population.

Among HL survivors, significantly more individuals who were diagnosed before the age of 21 had fatal cardiovascular events compared to those who were older than 21 (13.43 times vs. 3.33 times) at diagnosis. This difference was not observed in NHL survivors (6.23 times vs. 6.61 times).

This study concluded that lymphoma survivors have a higher cardiovascular mortality risk compared to the general population.

The studies analyzed here were observational. This means that no treatments were given. Only outcomes were studied. Potential risk factors for heart disease such as tobacco use and diabetes were not included in these studies. This may overestimate the mortality risks presented here.

Only 12 studies originated in North America. Some results may not be generalizable to all survivors.

Talk to your doctor about any concerns you may have regarding the risk of developing heart disease and how you can prevent it.