Patient characteristics
| All patients (n=452) | Patients with cardiotoxicity (n=22) | Patients without cardiotoxicity (n=430) | p Value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | No. (%) | No. (%) | No. (%) | |
| Age (n=452) | ||||
| Median | 63 | 63 | 63 | 0.742 |
| Range | 28–88 | 36–82 | 28–88 | |
| Capecitabine dose (n=443) | ||||
| 50% | 26 (6) | 1 (5) | 25 (6) | 0.636 |
| 75% | 84 (19) | 6 (27) | 78 (18) | |
| 100% | 333 (74) | 15 (68) | 318 (74) | |
| IHD (incl. previous ACS) (n=436) | 6 (1) | 0 | 6 (1) | 1.000 |
| Other cardiac diseases (n=436) | 37 (8) | 7 (32) | 30 (7) | 0.000 |
| ECG at treatment start† (n=161) | ||||
| Normal | 132 (29) | 9 (41) | 123 (29) | 0.454 |
| Abnormal | 29 (6) | 3 (14) | 26 (6) | |
| Hypertension (n=442) | 126 (28) | 9 (41) | 117 (27) | 0.186 |
| Hypercholesterolaemia (n=390) | 53 (12) | 7 (32) | 46 (11) | 0.002 |
| Diabetes mellitus (n=435) | 21 (5) | 1 (5) | 20 (5) | 1.000 |
| Smoking status (n=371) | ||||
| Current smoker | 105 (23) | 9 (41) | 96 (22) | 0.264 |
| Former smoker | 66 (15) | 4 (18) | 62 (14) | |
| Never smoked | 200 (44) | 5 (23) | 195 (45) | |
| BMI (n=382) | ||||
| Underweight (BMI <18.5) | 21 (5) | 3 (14) | 18 (4) | 0.337 |
| Normal (BMI 18.5–24.9) | 208 (46) | 8 (36) | 200 (47) | |
| Overweight (BMI 25.0–29.9) | 109 (24) | 9 (41) | 100 (23) | |
| Obese (BMI > 29.9) | 44 (10) | 0 | 44 (10) | |
| Number of risk factors for IHD‡ (n=452) | ||||
| 0 | 131 (29) | 3 (14) | 128 (30) | 0.005 |
| 1 | 182 (40) | 8 (36) | 174 (41) | |
| 2 | 90 (20) | 5 (23) | 85 (20) | |
| 3 | 32 (7) | 3 (14) | 29 (7) | |
| 4 | 17 (4) | 3 (14) | 14 (3) | |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Previous treatment with anthracyclines (n=444) | 242 (54) | 9 (41) | 233 (54) | 0.189 |
| Previous or concurrent treatment with trastuzumab (n=403) | 54 (12) | 3 (14) | 51 (12) | 0.752 |
| Previous breast irradiation (n=431) | 275 (61) | 8 (36) | 267 (62) | 0.052 |
| Left side | 132 (29) | 5 (23) | 127 (30) | 0.218 |
| Right side | 115 (25) | 1 (5) | 114 (27) | |
| Bilateral | 25 (6) | 2 (9) | 23 (5) | |
| Side unknown | 3 (1) | 0 | 3 (1) | |
| Previous thoracic irradiation (n=407) | 96 (21) | 4 (18) | 92 (21) | 1.000 |
| Anemia§ (n=437) | 126 (28) | 3 (14) | 123 (29) | 0.164 |
| eGFR (n=429) | ||||
| Low (<60 mL/min/1.73 m2) | 71 (17) | 6 (27) | 65 (15) | 0.105 |
| Normal (≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2) | 358 (79) | 13 (59) | 345 (80) | |
*p Value for the statistical tests of differences between patients with cardiotoxicity and patients without cardiotoxicity.
†All patients do routinely have ECG taken before treatment start and all ECGs are routinely seen by doctors, but not all ECGs were available in the medical records.
‡Risk factors for IHD include hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, diabetes mellitus, smoking and BMI.
§Defined according to the WHO: Hgb<7.4 mmol/L for non-pregnant women.
ACS, acute coronary syndrome; BMI, body mass index; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; IHD, ischaemic heart disease.