Cardiovascular Toxicities of Androgen Deprivation Therapy.

OPINION STATEMENT: Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men, and cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in patients with prostate cancer. Androgen deprivation therapy, the cornerstone of prostate cancer treatment, has been associated with adverse cardiovascular events. Emerging data supports decreased cardiovascular risk of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonists compared to agonists. Ongoing clinical trials are assessing the relative safety of different modalities of androgen deprivation therapy. Racial disparities in cardiovascular outcomes in prostate cancer patients are starting to be explored. An intriguing inquiry connects androgen deprivation therapy with reduced risk of COVID-19 infection susceptibility and severity. Recognition of the cardiotoxicity of androgen deprivation therapy and aggressive risk factor modification are crucial for optimal patient care.

Cardiovascular Events in Men with Prostate Cancer Receiving Hormone Therapy: An Analysis of the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).

PURPOSE: The comparative cardiovascular risk profiles of available hormone therapies for the treatment of prostate cancer is not known. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We queried the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System, a retrospective, pharmacovigilance database, for cardiovascular adverse event reports in men with prostate cancer receiving gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, GnRH antagonists, androgen receptor antagonists, and/or androgen synthesis inhibitors from January 2000 to April 2020. RESULTS: Cardiovascular adverse events accounted for 6,231 reports (12.6%) on hormone monotherapy and 1,793 reports (26.1%) on combination therapy. Arterial vascular events were reported most commonly, followed by arrhythmias, heart failure, and venous thromboembolism. Compared to GnRH agonists, GnRH antagonists were associated with fewer cardiovascular adverse event reports as monotherapy (adjusted reporting odds ratio [ROR]=0.70 [95% CI 0.59-0.84], p <0.001) and as combination therapy (ROR=0.47 [0.34-0.67], p <0.0001), driven by reductions in arterial vascular events. Second generation androgen receptor antagonists and abiraterone were associated with more reports of hypertension requiring hospitalization (ROR=1.21 [1.03-1.41], p=0.02 and ROR=1.19 [1.01-1.40], p=0.03, respectively), and more heart failure events when used in combination with GnRH antagonists (ROR=2.79 [1.30-6.01], p=0.009 and ROR=2.57 [1.12-5.86], p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: In this retrospective analysis of a pharmacovigilance database, arterial vascular events were the most commonly reported cardiovascular adverse events in men on hormone therapy for prostate cancer. GnRH antagonists were associated with fewer reports of overall cardiovascular events and arterial vascular events than GnRH agonists. Additional study is needed to identify optimal strategies to reduce cardiovascular morbidity among men with prostate cancer receiving hormone therapy.