Background Chemotherapy correlates to acute and long-term cardiotoxicity, is reflected clinically by myocardial and vascular endothelial dysfunction, and can cause cardiovascular complications. Thus, early diagnosis of cardiovascular disease in cancer patients undergoing anti-cancer treatment is necessary to enhance long-term survival. Our principal objective in this study was to discern the impact of specific anti-cancer chemotherapeutics and biologics on arterial stiffness alterations before and after the administration. Methods Conducted at Mustafa Bacha University Hospital, Algeria, the study focused on arterial stiffness in anti-cancer chemotherapy patients. Assessments included blood pressure, diabetes, and dyslipidemia, with precise measurements using validated systems, particularly pulse wave velocity (PWV). Various chemotherapy protocols were applied, and statistical analysis with R software (R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria) maintained a significance level of p=0.05. Key outcomes centered on carotid-femoral PWV and secondary endpoints such as central and peripheral pressures and pulse pressure (PP). Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted using appropriate statistical tests. Results A comparative prospective observational study was completed on 58 patients (34 women and 24 men; mean age: 52.64 +/- 12.12 years) treated with anti-cancer chemotherapy agents. Our evaluation included a complete clinical exam, electrocardiogram, Doppler echocardiography, and applanation tonometry with arterial stiffness measurement using PWV. Patients presented significantly higher levels of carotid-femoral PWV, regardless of the chosen chemotherapy protocol, with no return to the initial level after one year of stopping treatment (p-value < 0.01). Moreover, this increase was more significant in patients with diabetes and hypertension and patients treated with monoclonal antibodies or intercalants. Conclusion This prospective study shows that chemotherapy patients have elevated arterial stiffness, emphasizing the need to assess PWV and monitor cardiovascular risk factors. PP measurement with PWV could improve risk management.
Keywords: arterial stiffness; cancer patients; chemotherapy agents; post-chemotherapy cardiotoxicity; pulse wave velocity.
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