Incident Cardiovascular Disease Risk Among Older Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Breast Cancer Survivors.

BACKGROUND

Cardiotoxicity among breast cancer survivors is associated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (ANHPI) breast cancer survivors in the US is unknown.

METHODS

We used the SEER-Medicare linked database to estimate the risk of CVD among older breast cancer survivors. ICD diagnosis codes were used to identify incident CVD outcomes. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) comparing ANHPI to Non-Hispanic White (NHW) breast cancer patients for CVD, and among ANHPI race and ethnicity groups.

RESULTS

A total of 7,122 ANHPI breast cancer survivors and 21,365 NHW breast cancer survivors were identified. The risks of incident heart failure and ischemic heart disease were lower among ANHPI compared to NHW breast cancer survivors (HRheart failure=0.72, 95%CI=0.61, 0.84; HRheart disease=0.74, 95%CI=0.63, 0.88). Compared to Japanese breast cancer patients, Filipino, Asian Indian and Pakistani, and Native Hawaiian breast cancer survivors had higher risks of heart failure. ischemic heart disease and death. Among ANHPI breast cancer survivors, risk factors for heart failure included older age, higher comorbidity score, distant cancer stage and chemotherapy.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results support heterogeneity in CVD outcomes among breast cancer survivors among ANHPI race and ethnicity groups. Further research is needed to elucidate the disparities experienced among ANHPI cancer survivors.

IMPACT

Filipino, Asian Indian and Pakistani, and Native Hawaiian breast cancer patients had higher risks of heart failure, ischemic heart disease and death among ANHPI breast cancer patients.