Metastatic malignancies and the effect on arterial stiffness and blood pressure levels: the possible role of chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the prospective study was to evaluate blood pressure (BP) and the arterial stiffness before and after chemotherapy in three subgroups of patients with metastatic colorectal, renal cell, and gastrointestinal carcinoma and exploit, if possible, the effect of chemotherapy and biological agents in the event of cardiotoxicity. METHODS: A total of 171 patients were included in the study: 60 with kidney cancer, 18 with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), and 93 with metastatic colorectal cancer. All patients were subjected to full clinical and laboratory evaluation before and after chemotherapy. Arterial-stiffness indices were assessed before the initiation and after the completion of chemotherapy by means of pulse wave velocity (PWV; Complior) and augmentation index (AIx; SphygmoCor). RESULTS: Patients in all three cancer cohorts exhibited significantly (P<0.001) higher levels of carotid-radial PWV, carotid-femoral PWV, and AIx postchemotherapy, which remained significant after adjustment for BP and body-mass index. AIx exhibited greater change in the bowel-cancer cohort compared to the kidney and GIST cohorts (median 3.6, 1.75, and 1.4, respectively; P<0.001), which remained significant after adjustment for BP and body-mass index. Multiple regression analysis showed that patients with higher baseline systolic BP, diastolic BP, ejection fraction, and carotid-femoral PWV exhibited smaller differences postchemotherapy, while AIx75 baseline levels showed no difference postchemotherapy. CONCLUSION: There is a clear burden in arterial stiffness in patients under chemotherapy for kidney, GIST, and metastatic colorectal cancer, irrespective of BP and other confounders.