Influence of background cardiovascular risk factors on VEGF inhibitor-related adverse vascular events in patients with non-small cell lung cancer: a retrospective study.

Purpose: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors are widely used in chemotherapy for non-small lung cancer (NSCLC). The purpose of the current study was to examine the impact of background cardiovascular risk factors on VEGF inhibitor-related adverse vascular events (VEGF-related AVEs) in patients with NSCLC who also had comorbidities.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 118 NSCLC patients treated with bevacizumab or ramucirumab from April 2010 to December 2022. We compared baseline cardiovascular risk factors with VEGF-related AVEs.

Results: VEGF-related AVEs and discontinuation due to VEGF-related AVEs were reported in 54 patients and 21 patients, respectively. VEGF-related AVEs were significantly more common with male sex, smoking history, history of hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, or cardiovascular disease. Discontinuation due to VEGF-related AVEs was significantly more common in patients with history of hypertension or chronic kidney disease. VEGF-related AVEs were significantly more common in patients with ≥ 3 cardiovascular risk factors than patients with < 3. Discontinuation due to VEGF-related AVEs was significantly more common in patients with ≥ 4 cardiovascular risk factors than patients with < 4. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that male sex, hypertension, and ≥ 6 cycles of VEGF inhibitors were each associated with VEGF-related AVEs and hypertension was associated with discontinuation due to VEGF-related AVEs.

Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that history of hypertension was independently associated with increased risk of both VEGF-related AVEs and discontinuation due to VEGF-related AVEs. In conclusion, we need to be aware of VEGF-related AVEs when using VEGF inhibitors for patients with ≥ 3 cardiovascular risk factors.