Early myocardial infarction associated with chemotherapy for testicular cancer

INTRODUCTION: In long-term survivors of testicular cancer, a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease is reported. On the other hand, acute vascular event during chemotherapy is uncommon. CASE REPORT: We report on a case of acute myocardial infarction in a young man receiving chemotherapy (BEP) for testicular cancer. DISCUSSION: We suggest a causal association between chemotherapy and early myocardial infarction. The physiopathological mechanisms are discussed here.     

Complications associated with chemotherapy in testicular cancer management

Testicular cancer is the most common solid tumor among men aged 15-35 years. The introduction of cisplatin-based chemotherapy has resulted in a cure rate of over 95% for men with testicular cancer, which has put increased emphasis on understanding the morbidity associated with chemotherapy. Hematological, gastrointestinal, gonadal, otological, renal, neurological, and pulmonary toxicities are the most common acute adverse effects. Although most patients recover, some of these effects can persist after the chemotherapy regimen has been completed and can become chronic problems. The late complications associated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy include secondary malignancies, cardiovascular disease, avascular necrosis, and cognitive impairment. Late complications can have considerable effects on survival and quality of life, so close monitoring of patients is critical for the early diagnosis of late adverse effects and to limit associated damage. All patients should adopt a healthy lifestyle and follow age-appropriate cancer screening programs. Hormonal supplementation should be considered for those with a low testosterone level, in order to reduce the risk of sexual dysfunction and metabolic syndrome. Prompt diagnosis of avascular necrosis is essential, and it should be considered in the differential diagnosis for any long-term testicular cancer survivor complaining of hip pain. Finally, sperm cryopreservation should be discussed with all patients before chemotherapy is initiated.     

Late complications of therapy of Hodgkin's disease: prevention and management

Patients diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease have a high cure rate. However, long-term survivors of the disease are at significantly increased risk for many late complications. The most serious late effects faced by these patients include the development of a second malignancy or cardiovascular disease. Ongoing trials investigating treatment reduction, including using lower radiation dose, smaller radiation field size, and abbreviated chemotherapy, will hopefully help in limiting the treatment-related complications. Continued long-term follow-up of survivors, careful documentation of the broad range of late effects, identification of risk factors, development and evaluation of screening programs, and preventative therapy for specific late complications are important steps in improving the survival and quality of life of patients who have been cured of Hodgkin's disease.     

Bone marrow autotransplantation

Bone marrow autotransplantation involves the administration of very high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy, or both, followed by infusion of autologous hematopoietic stem cells. This treatment was used in the past as a salvage therapy for patients with end-stage cancers. Occasional cures in patients with chemotherapy-responsive malignancies encouraged oncologists to utilize this treatment earlier when a better result might be achieved. This has led to a substantial number of long-term disease-free survivors in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, acute leukemia, and neuroblastoma. Studies are currently ongoing in the treatment of breast cancer, multiple myeloma, testicular cancer, and ovarian cancer. Important areas for future investigation include the identification of optimal criteria for patient selection and timing of the therapy, the need for infusion of hematopoietic stem cells as cloned hematopoietic growth factors become available, the identification of the most effective high-dose regimens, and the need for "purging" tumor cells from the marrow before re-infusion. Successfully addressing these issues will increasingly require large comparative trials.     

Extensive surgery in metastatic testicular cancer

Surgery remains an important component in the multimodal treatment of patients with advanced testicular cancer. Recently, however, the indications for post-chemotherapy residual tumor resection have changed. Patients with advanced seminoma very rarely need surgical resection of the residual disease after standard chemotherapy. In contrast, patients with high stage non-seminomatous testis cancer must undergo post-chemotherapy surgery in most cases. Surgical resection in metastatic disease may also be necessary in patients with recurrent tumors, patients with persisting marker elevation during chemotherapy and patients with late relapses. Post-chemotherapy residual tumor resections, "redo"-retroperitoneal tumor operations and other salvage resections are often technically demanding procedures with unusual surgical approaches that require individualized perioperative planning in order to reduce morbidity. This paper summarizes the current indications for post-chemotherapy surgery and discusses various surgical approaches and techniques, perioperative management recommendations, as well as complications of these extensive resection procedures.     

Short and long term radiation induced cardiovascular disease in patients with cancer

Radiation‐induced cardiovascular disease is well described as a late effect in cancer patients treated with radiation therapy. Advancements in surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy have led to an increasing number of cancer survivors with resultant long‐term side effects related to their cancer treatments. In this review, we describe the short‐ and long‐term cardiovascular consequences of mediastinal radiotherapy and discuss the optimal cardiovascular assessments and diagnostic tools in asymptomatic and symptomatic patients.     

Anthracycline cardiotoxicity in long-term survivors of childhood cancer

Anthracycline chemotherapy is a widely-used and effective treatment for a wide spectrum of childhood cancers. Its use is limited by associated progressive and clinically significant cardiotoxic effects. Onset can be acute, early, or late. While acute onset is rare, long-term survivors have significantly elevated rates of cardiac morbidity and mortality. Major complications include cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, and atherosclerosis. Means of prevention and treatment continue to be explored including limiting cumulative anthracycline dose, controlling the rate of administration, and using liposomal preparations and novel anthracycline analogues. Dexrazoxane prior to anthracycline chemotherapy has been shown to significantly lower rates of elevated serum cardiac troponin levels, a marker of myocyte injury, indicating a cardioprotective effect. Pilot studies indicate that exercise interventions may also be beneficial in long-term survivors with cardiac damage. Support and study of this population to decrease the morbidity and morality associated with anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity is indicated in a time sensitive fashion.     

Current management of stage I testicular non-seminomatous germ cell tumours

Testicular germ cell tumors represent the most common malignancies in young males between the ages of 15 and 35; 50% of those with non-seminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCT) have clinical stage I at diagnosis. Predictors for relapse include lymphovascular invasion, percentage of embryonal-cell carcinoma component, absence of yolk-sack histology and MIB1 proliferation rate. Therapeutic options following orchidectomy in stage I NSGCT comprise nerve-sparing retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND), surveillance or adjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Using a risk adapted approach, in about 50% of patients with clinical stage I NSGCT surveillance is favored in patients with good compliance. Adjuvant chemotherapy is recommended for patients at high risk for developing metastatic disease. Non-seminomatous germ cell testicular cancer is a curable neoplasia. All available treatment modalities produce excellent results, with a long-term survival of almost 100%. Consequently, therapy-induced toxicity is an important concern in the management of these patients. An individually tailored approach that takes into account the prognostic factor profile, as well as the patients' preferences and their ability to comply with treatment, is the key for the successful management of stage I testicular cancer.     

Advanced extragonadal germ-cell tumors. Successful treatment with combination chemotherapy

Thirty-two patients with primary extragonadal germ-cell tumors were treated at Vanderbilt and Indiana University Hospitals during the period from 1967 to 1981. Thirty-one patients had far-advanced disease when treatment was begun. All patients received intensive cisplatin-containing combination chemotherapy regimens. Tumors remaining after chemotherapy were surgically removed when feasible. Of the 31 evaluable patients, 18 have been continuously disease-free after therapy, 21 patients had a complete remission; the remaining 10 had partial response. Eighty-nine percent of patients with complete remission remain free of disease after median follow-up of 30 months. No relapses occurred after 12 months of complete remission. Patients with partial response had a median survival of 9 months with no long-term survivors. Response rates and survival are similar to patients with advanced-stage testicular germ-cell tumors. Extragonadal germ-cell tumors are as curable as testicular germ-cell tumors when treated with intensive cisplatin-containing combination chemotherapy regimens, and surgical resection when necessary.     

Smoking and smoking cessation in cancer patients

Persons with malignant disease have been a neglected population for research in smoking cessation. Besides the well-established role of cigarette smoking in the development of several types of cancers, there are numerous adverse health consequences of continued smoking for the diagnosed cancer patient. These include: increased risk of further neoplasms, poorer survival, and complications of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy; risk of non-neoplastic smoking-related diseases; and additional impairment of appetite and nutrition. Smoking prevalence at diagnosis is highest among patients with smoking-related cancers. Prospective studies of a variety of cancer patient populations are needed to assess patterns of continued smoking and cessation. Systematic quit smoking programs should be integrated into cancer treatment regimens. Currently, two trials testing interventions delivered by medical providers are in progress. Important research issues concerning intervention in cancer patient smoking behavior include: identification of relevant target groups; definition of intervention style and content; delineation of dimensions of treatment; and documentation of beneficial effects. The growing number of long-term cancer survivors and the complications from other smoking-related diseases dictate that the smoking cessation needs of this population be addressed.     

Review of the cardiac long-term effects of therapy for Hodgkin lymphoma

Patients diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma have a high cure rate. However, long-term survivors of the disease are at significantly increased risk for a number of late effects, with cardiovascular disease being the most common non-malignant cause of death in these patients. This review summarizes the available data regarding the types of cardiac complications, timing of their onset in relationship to initial treatment, associated risk factors, and available studies on the role of screening for subclinical cardiac disease. Given the known correlation between the extent of Hodgkin lymphoma therapy and subsequent cardiac risks, current trials investigating treatment reduction, including using lower radiation dose, smaller radiation field size and abbreviated chemotherapy will hopefully help in limiting cardiac toxicity. Screening for and aggressive management of traditional cardiac risk factors are also important strategies in reducing risks of cardiac disease in long-term Hodgkin lymphoma survivors.     

Testicular cancer. Open questions: prevention, early diagnosis and infertility

Testicular cancer is the most common malignancy in men aged 15-35 years. Histologically, testicular germ-cell tumors have two main subtypes: pure seminoma and nonseminoma. Knowing the histopathological tumor type and detecting the relevant prognostic factors helps to guide the subsequent therapeutic course. At present there are no recommendations for testicular cancer screening in healthy young men, even among men showing high risk; however, a testicular cancer should be diagnosed as soon as a young man presents with suggestive signs and symptoms. Furthermore, thanks to highly effective treatments including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, it is very important to effectively manage secondary prevention and improve these patients' quality of life. Secondary prevention of relapses or secondary malignancy onsets should be carried out through a regular follow-up of the patient; in selected cases of positive family history, it is possible to perform genome-wide analyses aiming at searching the genes possibly causing testicular germ-cell tumor in affected first-degree male relatives. Long-term therapies can yield infertility and sexual dysfunction, issues gaining more and more importance from a clinical point of view. Sperm cryopreservation should be systematically offered to all requiring patients; moreover, screening for gonadal dysfunction should be considered in the follow-up of testicular cancer survivors, with the aim of hormone supplementation in symptomatic patients.     

Chemotherapy agents and hypertension: A focus on angiogenesis blockade

Two observations highlight the importance of this review. The first observation is that high blood pressure is the most frequent comorbid condition in cancer registries which directly affects the prognosis of the patient. The second observation is that long-term cancer survivors now have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than of recurrent cancer, and hypertension contributes to this risk. New approaches to cancer chemotherapy disrupt angiogenesis; subjects receiving these agents often have an associated increase in blood pressure. In this article we concentrate on observations published over the past 2 years in this rapidly developing field, outline putative mechanisms and time frames for these prohypertensive effects, and conclude with some management recommendations based on current knowledge.     

The management of nonseminomatous testicular cancer: current therapy and future directions

Carcinoma of the testes is the fourth leading cause of death in males between the ages of 15-54, and its incidence may be increasing. Nonseminomatous testicular cancer represents 50% of all testicular tumors. There have been recent advances in diagnosis, staging and therapy of these tumors. Currently, there is a high success rate with platinum containing combination chemotherapy regimens in patients with advanced stages of disease. The article reviews the evolution of successful chemotherapy and the issues of adjuvant therapy for early stage disease, radiation therapy and the role of retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy and surgery following chemotherapy.     

Surviving adult cancers. Part 1: Physiologic effects

PURPOSE: To provide an overview of the physiologic long-term and late effects of adult cancers and cancer treatments by a review of the medical and nursing literature. DATA IDENTIFICATION: Primarily from an English-language literature search using MEDLINE (1980 to 1988) and Index Medicus (1980 to 1988). STUDY SELECTION: After a consensus review by four observers, 285 articles were selected that addressed the stated purpose. DATA EXTRACTION: Four observers assessed the literature using predetermined criteria for eliciting information about long-term and late effects. RESULTS AND DATA SYNTHESIS: Much has been written about the acute phases of cancer and cancer treatments. In comparison, relatively few data are available that define physiologic long-term: and late effects of cancer treatments in adult survivors. Review of the existing data showed that these sequelae may affect virtually any body system months or years after treatment ends. In addition, few prospective studies dealing with physiologic survivorship issues have been done. CONCLUSIONS: Health care providers need to be aware of long-term or late complications that may affect the increasing number of adult cancer survivors. Attention to treatment regimens in the acute cancer phase and careful follow-up once the disease is eradicated may help to prevent or manage these complications. More prospective research should be done in this area.     

乳腺癌化疗相关心脏毒性的防治研究进展

目前,心血管疾病和肿瘤的全球发病率居高不下,有数据显示,截止到2018年,全世界癌症新发总人数约为1810万例,其中,乳腺癌新发例数约为210万,占女性恶性肿瘤发病率和死亡率的首位[1]。近些年,随着我国医疗卫生服务质量和水平的不断提升,包括乳腺癌在内的癌症患者的五年生存率也相应地得到提高,乳腺癌患者整体生存时间整体延长。乳腺癌的治疗方法包括化疗、放疗、靶向治疗以及手术治疗,其中,化疗是主要的治疗手段。值得注意的是,蒽环类等化疗药物的广泛应用,虽有效提高了乳腺癌患者的远期生存率,但同时也不可避免地带来了心律失常、心力衰竭、心肌病等一系列心血管毒性反应,不仅在一定程度上限制了这些药物的临床应用,也对乳腺癌幸存患者的远期预后以及生活质量造成了严重不良影响。因此,乳腺癌化疗相关的心脏毒性有必要引起心血管及肿瘤科医师的警惕和重视,本文现就乳腺癌化疗相关心脏毒性的防治研究进展做一综述。     

Endocrine sequelae of cancer therapy in childhood.

New treatments for neoplastic diseases of childhood have significantly increased patients' long-term survival and the importance of recognizing and correcting late complications of medical therapy. In this review, we examine both central nervous system (CNS) and non-CNS-related endocrine morbidities associated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy of childhood cancer. These include effects on growth, puberty, fertility, thyroid and adrenal function which may present many years after the successful treatment of underlying disease.     

Late effects after chemotherapy

Today, about 60% of adult patients and 80% children diagnosed with cancer will survive 5 years after diagnosis. Approximately two thirds of cancer survivors will experience at least one late effect, and about one third severe or life threatening late effects. The aim of cancer treatment today is to cure the malignant disease but at the same time, to minimize the incidence of post-treatment complications. In the current overview we summarize, based on the most recent publications, typical late effects in cancer survivors.     

Cardiovascular morbidity in patients after treatment for testicular cancer

Increase of incidence and favorable prognosis of testicular cancer are accompanied by growing evidence of late complications following antineoplastic treatment, such as cardiovascular diseases, peripheral neuropathy, renal damage, hearing impairment, secondary malignancies, pulmonary toxicity, gonadal dysfunction and bone mineral density abnormalities. During the last years a sufficient evidence has been accumulated that there is a higher incidence of cardiovascular diseases, particularly in patients treated with high-dose cisplatin chemotherapy or mediastinal irradiation. Acute myocardial infarction and angina pectoris are the most common from cardiovascular complications. Several authors have reported high prevalence of hypertension, dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, endothelial dysfunction and also an excessive increase of body mass index among patients being treated successfully for testicular cancer. Pathogenesis of the cardiovascular toxicity remains still unclear. At present there are no clear and widely accepted recommendations on follow-up management including late complications of treatment for testicular cancer. Early identification of cardiovascular risk factors and their treatment may improve quality and expectancy of their life.     

Folgeerkrankungen nach Chemotherapie

Today, about 60% of adult patients and 80% children diagnosed with cancer will survive 5 years after diagnosis. Approximately two thirds of cancer survivors will experience at least one late effect, and about one third severe or life threatening late effects. The aim of cancer treatment today is to cure the malignant disease but at the same time, to minimize the incidence of post-treatment complications. In the current overview we summarize, based on the most recent publications, typical late effects in cancer survivors.