CVD Mortality Leading Cause of Death for Stage I, II Hodgkin Lymphoma

MONDAY, July 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with stage I and II classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), the long-term risk for mortality related to cardiovascular disease (CVD) has exceeded that of cHL and has become the leading cause of death, according to a study published online July 25 in Cancer.

Zhenxing Lu, M.D., Ph.D., from Zhujiang Hospital at the Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China, and colleagues conducted a multicenter cohort study involving 15,889 patients with cHL diagnosed between 1983 and 2015 and examined the temporal trend of CVD mortality among these patients.

The researchers found that after approximately 60 or 120 months of follow-up, among patients in stage I and II cHL, the proportional mortality ratio for CVD exceeded that for cHL. The cumulative incidence of CVD mortality exceeded that of cHL and other neoplasms over time for almost all patients with stage I or II disease. In recent decades, there was a sharp decline observed in the risk for cHL mortality, but the risk for CVD mortality decreased slowly or remained unchanged among some populations with cHL. In almost all follow-up intervals, patients with stage I or II disease experienced a higher risk for CVD mortality than the general population. Among patients in stage I, the absolute excess CVD risk reached 48.5.

"In recent decades, the risk of CVD mortality among patients with cHL declined quite slowly," the authors write. "The risk of CVD mortality exceeded that of cHL and other neoplasms and became the leading cause of death over time among patients with stage I or stage II disease."

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)