Cardiovascular considerations in prostate cancer patients treated with Androgen Deprivation Therapy
There is a growing epidemic of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in cancer patients during and after cancer treatment. The frequency of cardiovascular (CV) problems is higher in cancer patients who are receiving or who have previously received cancer treatments with a known CV toxicity profile.
Cardiovascular diseases, including cardiac arrhythmia, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accidents, peripheral arterial disease, and venous thromboembolism, represent the most common comorbidity and cause of death among patients with prostate cancer.
Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has been used to treat this hormone-sensitive malignancy for decades and is accepted as front-line therapy for many patients. It is also known that ADT as well as antiandrogens – abiraterone and enzalutamide – may variably induce sarcopenic obesity, dyslipidaemia, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, and venous thromboembolism, leading to serious cardiovascular issues. Click here to watch our video about ADT and the risk of CVD.
Despite recent publications on the topic, there is a perceived need to better inform the urology medical community and prostate cancer patients on the importance of recognising the CVD risk in prostate cancer patients and adapt the treatment modalities.
In this video, three experts from different disciplines explain the relationship between lifestyle and CVD whilst on ADT, the need for patients to proactively communicate with their clinicians on their cardiovascular history/comorbidity, which medical tests to assess one’s risk of having or developing cardiovascular disease exist, as well as how to preserve cardiovascular health during treatment.
This video is brought to you by the European Association of Urology (EAU), supported by an educational grant from Ferring Pharmaceuticals.
