Browsing by Author "Clasen, Suparna C."

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    Cardiovascular disease in thymic cancer patients
    (Frontiers Media, 2024-09-10) Khemka, Abhishek; Clasen, Suparna C.; Loehrer, Patrick J.; Roberts, Anna R.; Golzarri-Arroyo, Lilian; Badve, Sunil S.; Raman, Subha V.; Hui, Siu L.; Schleyer, Titus K. L.; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Introduction: Cancer patients may have increased risk for adverse cardiac events, but our understanding of cardiovascular risk in thymic cancer patients is not clear. We sought to characterize baseline cardiometabolic risk factors before thymic cancer diagnosis and the potential association between cancer treatment and subsequent cardiac events. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study evaluating patients with thymic cancer from 2003 to 2020 compared to age- and sex-matched controls without cancer. Baseline cardiovascular risk factors, cancer characteristics, and incidence of cardiac events were collected from the health information exchange. Multivariable regression was used to examine the impact of cardiovascular risk factors and cancer therapies. Results: We compared 296 patients with pathology-confirmed thymic cancer to 2,960 noncancer controls. Prior to cancer diagnosis, thymic cancer patients (TCPs) had lower prevalence of hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus and similar rates of obesity, tobacco use, and pre-existing cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to controls. After diagnosis, high-risk TCPs (>2 cardiovascular risk factors or pre-existing CVD) had higher risk for cardiac events (HR 3.73, 95% CI 2.88-4.83, p < 0.001). In the first 3 years after diagnosis, TCPs had higher incidence of cardiac events (HR 1.38, 95% CI 1.01-1.87, p = 0.042). High-risk TCPs who received radiotherapy or chemotherapy had higher risk of cardiac events (HR 4.99, 95% CI 2.30-10.81, p < 0.001; HR 6.24, 95% CI 2.84-13.72, p < 0.001). Discussion/conclusion: Compared to noncancer controls, TCPs experienced more cardiac events when adjusted for risk factors. Patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors receiving radiotherapy or chemotherapy had higher incidence of cardiac events.
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    Cisplatin, environmental metals, and cardiovascular disease: an urgent need to understand underlying mechanisms
    (BMC, 2021-10-10) Clasen, Suparna C.; Dinh, Paul C., Jr.; Hou, Lifang; Fung, Chunkit; Sesso, Howard D.; Travis, Lois B.; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Significantly increased risks of cardiovascular disease occur in testicular cancer survivors given cisplatin-based chemotherapy. The postulated mechanism of platinum-based chemotherapy's vascular toxicity has been thought secondary to its different early- and late- effects on vascular injury, endothelial dysfunction, and induction of a hypercoagulable state. We highlight for the first time the similarities between platinum-associated vascular adverse events and the vascular toxicity associated with other xenobiotic-metal contaminants. The vascular toxicity seen in large epidemiologic studies of testicular cancer survivors may in part be similar and mechanistically linked to the risk seen in environmental heavy metal contaminants linked to cardiovascular disease. Future research should be directed to better understand the magnitude of the adverse cardiovascular effects of platinum and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of action.
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    Early Cardiac Effects of Contemporary Radiation Therapy in Patients With Breast Cancer
    (Elsevier, 2020) Clasen, Suparna C.; Shou, Haochang; Freedman, Gary; Plastaras, John P.; Taunk, Neil K.; Teo, Boon-Keng Kevin; Smith, Amanda M.; Demissei, Biniyam G.; Ky, Bonnie; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Purpose To characterize the early changes in echocardiographically derived measures of cardiac function with contemporary radiation therapy (RT) in breast cancer and to determine the associations with radiation dose-volume metrics, including mean heart dose (MHD). Methods and Materials In a prospective longitudinal cohort study of 86 patients with breast cancer treated with photon or proton thoracic RT, clinical and echocardiographic data were assessed at 3 time points: within 4 weeks before RT initiation (T0), within 3 days before 6 weeks after the end of RT (T1), and 5 to 9 months after RT completion (T2). Associations between MHD and echocardiographically derived measures of cardiac function were assessed using generalized estimating equations to define the acute (T0 to T1) and subacute (T0 to T2) changes in cardiac function. Results The median estimates of MHD were 139 cGy (interquartile range, 99-249 cGy). In evaluating the acute changes in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) from T0 to T1, and accounting for the time from RT, age, race, preexisting cardiovascular disease, and an interaction term with anthracycline or trastuzumab exposure and MHD, there was a modest decrease in LVEF of borderline significance (0.22%; 95% confidence interval [CI], –0.44% to 0.01%; P = .06) per 30-day interval for every 100 cGy increase of MHD. Similarly, there was a modest worsening in longitudinal strain (0.19%; 95% CI, –0.01% to 0.39%; P = .06) per 30-day interval for each 100 cGy increase in MHD. We did not find significant associations between MHD and changes in circumferential strain or diastolic function. Conclusions With modern radiation planning techniques, there are modest subclinical changes in measures of cardiac function in the short-term. Longer-term follow-up studies are needed to determine whether these early changes are associated with the development of overt cardiac disease.
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    How to Manage Cisplatin-Based Chemotherapy-Related Cardiovascular Disease in Patients With Testicular Cancer
    (Elsevier, 2022-09-20) Kadambi, Sindhuja; Clasen, Suparna C.; Fung, Chunkit; Medicine, School of Medicine
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    SGLT2 Inhibitor for Cardiac Protection in a Patient With Osimertinib-Responsive Advanced EGFR-Positive Lung Cancer
    (Elsevier, 2024-12-04) Belamkar, Aditya V.; Mounayar, Marwan; Clasen, Suparna C.; Medicine, School of Medicine
    An 85-year-old man with recently diagnosed metastatic EGFR+ lung adenocarcinoma treated with osimertinib presented after 1 month of therapy in decompensated congestive heart failure along with atrial fibrillation, prolonged QTc and acute kidney injury. Osimertinib was held. His hemodynamic status was optimized, and he was started on cardioprotective medications (losartan and metoprolol succinate), and LVEF recovered. However, after reintroducing osimertinib, LVEF reduced, indicating possible osimertinib-induced cardiomyopathy. An SGLT2 inhibitor was added for cardioprotection before another rechallenge of osimertinib. SGLT2 inhibitors are a powerful tool for heart failure and may have a potential secondary benefit in ameliorating cardiotoxic processes. Although their use in osimertinib-induced cardiomyopathy has not been well-established, current heart failure guidelines and emerging research support its use in this setting. This case and the accompanying literature review highlight the novel use of SGLT2 inhibitors coupled with regular clinical and imaging monitoring, as a compelling intervention for osimertinib-induced cardiomyopathy.