Association between cardiovascular disease and a history of cancer in patients with chest pain on the fast track outpatient clinic

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of a history of malignancy in patients with chest pain who were referred for computed tomography angiography as well as the long-term survival and cardiovascular outcomes, including coronary artery disease (CAD) and coronary artery calcium (CAC) percentiles of cancer survivors. These data are relevant since it is unknown how cancer survivors, who underwent cardio-toxic therapies, should be monitored. METHODS: We analysed all patients with chest pain, who came to the outpatient clinic and underwent computed tomography angiography. The primary study endpoint was long-term survival. The secondary endpoints included CAD on computed tomography angiogram (CTA), CAC percentiles, suspected and confirmed malignancy on CTA, and other accidental findings on CTA. RESULTS: Of all 1,892 patients included in the analyses, 133 (7%) had a history of malignancy and 1,759 (93%) did not. Mortality rates were higher for the cancer survivors (6.5% vs 20.9% after ten years, p < 0.001). The multivariable Cox regression model also showed higher mortality for cancer survivors after ten years (adjusted hazard ratio 2.48 [95% confidence interval: 1.58–3.90]). CAD did not differ between both groups. CAC percentiles were higher in cancer survivors (p = 0.037). Cancer survivors had more suspected malignancies (3.8% vs 0.5%; p = 0.001) and also more confirmed malignancies on CTA (3.0% vs 0.1%; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Cancer survivors have higher mortality rates, no difference in CAD on CTA, higher CAC percentiles and more often malignancy on CTA compared with patients without a cancer history. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s12471-019-1268-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.