TBD Meeting (3134-20)

The absolute benefit of adding low-dose rivaroxaban to low-dose aspirin following revascularization for symptomatic lower-extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD) is significantly greater in patients with comorbid coronary artery disease (CAD), according to a new secondary analysis of the VOYAGER PAD trial.

“These findings suggest heterogeneity of prognostic risk for ischemic events in lower-extremity PAD patients, and may support shared decision-making with these patients,” William R. Hiatt, MD, observed in presenting the study results at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

VOYAGER PAD was a 3-year, 34-country clinical trial in which 6,564 patients with symptomatic PAD who had recently undergone lower-limb revascularization were randomized in double-blind fashion to rivaroxaban (Xarelto) at 2.5 mg twice daily or placebo on top of background standard therapy with low-dose aspirin.

Among the 2,067 participants with baseline comorbid CAD, the primary outcome – a composite comprised of cardiovascular death, acute MI, ischemic stroke, acute limb ischemia, and major amputation – occurred in 18.9% of the rivaroxaban group at 3 years and 24.3% on placebo, for a highly significant 22% relative risk reduction.

In contrast, in the 4,497 patients with PAD only, the primary outcome occurred in 16.1% of those on rivaroxaban and 17.9% of controls, an 11% relative risk reduction which failed to reach statistical significance. The absolute risk reduction achieved with rivaroxaban was 5.4% in patients with PAD plus CAD versus 1.8% in those with PAD alone. Thus, the significant clinical benefit with rivaroxaban plus aspirin previously reported in the overall study population, with a number needed to treat for 3 years of 39 in order to prevent one primary outcome event, was largely driven by the superior outcomes in the dual-diagnosis subgroup, reported Dr. Hiatt, professor of medicine at the University of Colorado at Denver, Aurora.

“A strategy of rivaroxaban at 2.5 mg twice daily plus low-dose aspirin versus low-dose aspirin alone reduces ischemic events of the limb, brain, and heart, but also increases bleeding, with an overall net benefit,” the cardiologist said. “In particular, the benefits of this strategy for MI and ischemic stroke are robust, especially in patients with PAD and CAD.”

Indeed, the MI rate at 3 years in the dual diagnosis subgroup was 7.3% with rivaroxaban and 8.8% with placebo, for a 23% relative risk reduction, compared with rates of 3.3% and 3.7%, respectively, in patients with PAD only. Similarly, ischemic stroke occurred in 2.9% of patients with PAD and CAD in the rivaroxaban group, compared with 3.9% with placebo, whereas the rate in the PAD only group was identical at 2.6% regardless of whether patients were on rivaroxaban or placebo.

In patients without CAD, the clinical benefit of rivaroxaban was driven by reductions in severe limb events. Their rate of acute limb ischemia was 5.2% with rivaroxaban, compared with 8.3% with placebo, for a 37% relative risk reduction. In contrast, the reduction in acute limb ischemia with rivaroxaban in patients with PAD and CAD wasn’t significantly different from placebo.

Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction major bleeding occurred in 2.4% of patients with PAD and CAD on rivaroxaban, compared with 1.1% on placebo, and in 1.7% and 1.5% of patients with PAD alone. Of note, rates of ischemic stroke or fatal hemorrhage were low and similar at less than 1% in all four groups, Dr. Hiatt noted.

VOYAGER PAD was sponsored by Bayer and Janssen. Dr. Hiatt reported receiving research grant support from those two companies as well as Amgen.

[email protected]

The absolute benefit of adding low-dose rivaroxaban to low-dose aspirin following revascularization for symptomatic lower-extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD) is significantly greater in patients with comorbid coronary artery disease (CAD), according to a new secondary analysis of the VOYAGER PAD trial.

“These findings suggest heterogeneity of prognostic risk for ischemic events in lower-extremity PAD patients, and may support shared decision-making with these patients,” William R. Hiatt, MD, observed in presenting the study results at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

VOYAGER PAD was a 3-year, 34-country clinical trial in which 6,564 patients with symptomatic PAD who had recently undergone lower-limb revascularization were randomized in double-blind fashion to rivaroxaban (Xarelto) at 2.5 mg twice daily or placebo on top of background standard therapy with low-dose aspirin.

Among the 2,067 participants with baseline comorbid CAD, the primary outcome – a composite comprised of cardiovascular death, acute MI, ischemic stroke, acute limb ischemia, and major amputation – occurred in 18.9% of the rivaroxaban group at 3 years and 24.3% on placebo, for a highly significant 22% relative risk reduction.

In contrast, in the 4,497 patients with PAD only, the primary outcome occurred in 16.1% of those on rivaroxaban and 17.9% of controls, an 11% relative risk reduction which failed to reach statistical significance. The absolute risk reduction achieved with rivaroxaban was 5.4% in patients with PAD plus CAD versus 1.8% in those with PAD alone. Thus, the significant clinical benefit with rivaroxaban plus aspirin previously reported in the overall study population, with a number needed to treat for 3 years of 39 in order to prevent one primary outcome event, was largely driven by the superior outcomes in the dual-diagnosis subgroup, reported Dr. Hiatt, professor of medicine at the University of Colorado at Denver, Aurora.

“A strategy of rivaroxaban at 2.5 mg twice daily plus low-dose aspirin versus low-dose aspirin alone reduces ischemic events of the limb, brain, and heart, but also increases bleeding, with an overall net benefit,” the cardiologist said. “In particular, the benefits of this strategy for MI and ischemic stroke are robust, especially in patients with PAD and CAD.”

Indeed, the MI rate at 3 years in the dual diagnosis subgroup was 7.3% with rivaroxaban and 8.8% with placebo, for a 23% relative risk reduction, compared with rates of 3.3% and 3.7%, respectively, in patients with PAD only. Similarly, ischemic stroke occurred in 2.9% of patients with PAD and CAD in the rivaroxaban group, compared with 3.9% with placebo, whereas the rate in the PAD only group was identical at 2.6% regardless of whether patients were on rivaroxaban or placebo.

In patients without CAD, the clinical benefit of rivaroxaban was driven by reductions in severe limb events. Their rate of acute limb ischemia was 5.2% with rivaroxaban, compared with 8.3% with placebo, for a 37% relative risk reduction. In contrast, the reduction in acute limb ischemia with rivaroxaban in patients with PAD and CAD wasn’t significantly different from placebo.

Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction major bleeding occurred in 2.4% of patients with PAD and CAD on rivaroxaban, compared with 1.1% on placebo, and in 1.7% and 1.5% of patients with PAD alone. Of note, rates of ischemic stroke or fatal hemorrhage were low and similar at less than 1% in all four groups, Dr. Hiatt noted.

VOYAGER PAD was sponsored by Bayer and Janssen. Dr. Hiatt reported receiving research grant support from those two companies as well as Amgen.

[email protected]

The absolute benefit of adding low-dose rivaroxaban to low-dose aspirin following revascularization for symptomatic lower-extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD) is significantly greater in patients with comorbid coronary artery disease (CAD), according to a new secondary analysis of the VOYAGER PAD trial.

“These findings suggest heterogeneity of prognostic risk for ischemic events in lower-extremity PAD patients, and may support shared decision-making with these patients,” William R. Hiatt, MD, observed in presenting the study results at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

VOYAGER PAD was a 3-year, 34-country clinical trial in which 6,564 patients with symptomatic PAD who had recently undergone lower-limb revascularization were randomized in double-blind fashion to rivaroxaban (Xarelto) at 2.5 mg twice daily or placebo on top of background standard therapy with low-dose aspirin.

Among the 2,067 participants with baseline comorbid CAD, the primary outcome – a composite comprised of cardiovascular death, acute MI, ischemic stroke, acute limb ischemia, and major amputation – occurred in 18.9% of the rivaroxaban group at 3 years and 24.3% on placebo, for a highly significant 22% relative risk reduction.

In contrast, in the 4,497 patients with PAD only, the primary outcome occurred in 16.1% of those on rivaroxaban and 17.9% of controls, an 11% relative risk reduction which failed to reach statistical significance. The absolute risk reduction achieved with rivaroxaban was 5.4% in patients with PAD plus CAD versus 1.8% in those with PAD alone. Thus, the significant clinical benefit with rivaroxaban plus aspirin previously reported in the overall study population, with a number needed to treat for 3 years of 39 in order to prevent one primary outcome event, was largely driven by the superior outcomes in the dual-diagnosis subgroup, reported Dr. Hiatt, professor of medicine at the University of Colorado at Denver, Aurora.

“A strategy of rivaroxaban at 2.5 mg twice daily plus low-dose aspirin versus low-dose aspirin alone reduces ischemic events of the limb, brain, and heart, but also increases bleeding, with an overall net benefit,” the cardiologist said. “In particular, the benefits of this strategy for MI and ischemic stroke are robust, especially in patients with PAD and CAD.”

Indeed, the MI rate at 3 years in the dual diagnosis subgroup was 7.3% with rivaroxaban and 8.8% with placebo, for a 23% relative risk reduction, compared with rates of 3.3% and 3.7%, respectively, in patients with PAD only. Similarly, ischemic stroke occurred in 2.9% of patients with PAD and CAD in the rivaroxaban group, compared with 3.9% with placebo, whereas the rate in the PAD only group was identical at 2.6% regardless of whether patients were on rivaroxaban or placebo.

In patients without CAD, the clinical benefit of rivaroxaban was driven by reductions in severe limb events. Their rate of acute limb ischemia was 5.2% with rivaroxaban, compared with 8.3% with placebo, for a 37% relative risk reduction. In contrast, the reduction in acute limb ischemia with rivaroxaban in patients with PAD and CAD wasn’t significantly different from placebo.

Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction major bleeding occurred in 2.4% of patients with PAD and CAD on rivaroxaban, compared with 1.1% on placebo, and in 1.7% and 1.5% of patients with PAD alone. Of note, rates of ischemic stroke or fatal hemorrhage were low and similar at less than 1% in all four groups, Dr. Hiatt noted.

VOYAGER PAD was sponsored by Bayer and Janssen. Dr. Hiatt reported receiving research grant support from those two companies as well as Amgen.

[email protected]

Depression or an anxiety disorder in male adolescents was associated with a 20% increased likelihood of experiencing an acute MI in midlife in a Swedish national registry study presented at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

The association was mediated in part by poor stress resilience and lack of physical fitness among these teenagers with an affective disorder, reported Cecilia Bergh, PhD, of Obrero (Sweden) University.

Her study was made possible by Sweden’s comprehensive national health care registries coupled with the Nordic nation’s compulsory conscription for military service. The mandatory conscription evaluation during the study years included a semistructured interview with a psychologist to assess stress resilience through questions about coping with everyday life, a medical history and physical examination, and a cardiovascular fitness test using a bicycle ergometer.

The study included 238,013 males born in 1952-1956. They were aged 18-19 years when they underwent their conscription examination, at which time 34,503 of them either received or already had a diagnosis of depression or anxiety. During follow-up from 1987 to 2010, a first acute MI occurred in 5,891 of the men. The risk was increased 51% among those with an earlier teen diagnosis of depression or anxiety.

In a Cox regression analysis adjusted for levels of adolescent cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure, body mass index, and systemic inflammation, as well as additional potential confounders, such as cognitive function, parental socioeconomic index, and a summary disease score, the midlife MI risk associated with adolescent depression or anxiety was attenuated, but still significant, with a 24% increase. Upon further statistical adjustment incorporating adolescent stress resilience and cardiovascular fitness, the increased risk of acute MI in midlife associated with adolescent depression or anxiety was further attenuated yet remained significant, at 18%.

Dr. Bergh shared her thoughts on preventing this increased risk of acute MI at a relatively young age: “Effective prevention might focus on behavior, lifestyle, and psychosocial stress in early life. If a healthy lifestyle is encouraged as early as possible in childhood and adolescence, it is more likely to persist into adulthood and to improve longterm health. So look for signs of stress, depression, or anxiety that is beyond normal teenager behavior and a persistent problem. Teenagers with poor well-being could benefit from additional support to encourage exercise and also to develop strategies to deal with stress.”

She reported having no financial conflicts regarding her study, conducted free of commercial support.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Bergh C et al. ESC 2020, Abstract 90524.

Depression or an anxiety disorder in male adolescents was associated with a 20% increased likelihood of experiencing an acute MI in midlife in a Swedish national registry study presented at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

The association was mediated in part by poor stress resilience and lack of physical fitness among these teenagers with an affective disorder, reported Cecilia Bergh, PhD, of Obrero (Sweden) University.

Her study was made possible by Sweden’s comprehensive national health care registries coupled with the Nordic nation’s compulsory conscription for military service. The mandatory conscription evaluation during the study years included a semistructured interview with a psychologist to assess stress resilience through questions about coping with everyday life, a medical history and physical examination, and a cardiovascular fitness test using a bicycle ergometer.

The study included 238,013 males born in 1952-1956. They were aged 18-19 years when they underwent their conscription examination, at which time 34,503 of them either received or already had a diagnosis of depression or anxiety. During follow-up from 1987 to 2010, a first acute MI occurred in 5,891 of the men. The risk was increased 51% among those with an earlier teen diagnosis of depression or anxiety.

In a Cox regression analysis adjusted for levels of adolescent cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure, body mass index, and systemic inflammation, as well as additional potential confounders, such as cognitive function, parental socioeconomic index, and a summary disease score, the midlife MI risk associated with adolescent depression or anxiety was attenuated, but still significant, with a 24% increase. Upon further statistical adjustment incorporating adolescent stress resilience and cardiovascular fitness, the increased risk of acute MI in midlife associated with adolescent depression or anxiety was further attenuated yet remained significant, at 18%.

Dr. Bergh shared her thoughts on preventing this increased risk of acute MI at a relatively young age: “Effective prevention might focus on behavior, lifestyle, and psychosocial stress in early life. If a healthy lifestyle is encouraged as early as possible in childhood and adolescence, it is more likely to persist into adulthood and to improve longterm health. So look for signs of stress, depression, or anxiety that is beyond normal teenager behavior and a persistent problem. Teenagers with poor well-being could benefit from additional support to encourage exercise and also to develop strategies to deal with stress.”

She reported having no financial conflicts regarding her study, conducted free of commercial support.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Bergh C et al. ESC 2020, Abstract 90524.

Depression or an anxiety disorder in male adolescents was associated with a 20% increased likelihood of experiencing an acute MI in midlife in a Swedish national registry study presented at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

The association was mediated in part by poor stress resilience and lack of physical fitness among these teenagers with an affective disorder, reported Cecilia Bergh, PhD, of Obrero (Sweden) University.

Her study was made possible by Sweden’s comprehensive national health care registries coupled with the Nordic nation’s compulsory conscription for military service. The mandatory conscription evaluation during the study years included a semistructured interview with a psychologist to assess stress resilience through questions about coping with everyday life, a medical history and physical examination, and a cardiovascular fitness test using a bicycle ergometer.

The study included 238,013 males born in 1952-1956. They were aged 18-19 years when they underwent their conscription examination, at which time 34,503 of them either received or already had a diagnosis of depression or anxiety. During follow-up from 1987 to 2010, a first acute MI occurred in 5,891 of the men. The risk was increased 51% among those with an earlier teen diagnosis of depression or anxiety.

In a Cox regression analysis adjusted for levels of adolescent cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure, body mass index, and systemic inflammation, as well as additional potential confounders, such as cognitive function, parental socioeconomic index, and a summary disease score, the midlife MI risk associated with adolescent depression or anxiety was attenuated, but still significant, with a 24% increase. Upon further statistical adjustment incorporating adolescent stress resilience and cardiovascular fitness, the increased risk of acute MI in midlife associated with adolescent depression or anxiety was further attenuated yet remained significant, at 18%.

Dr. Bergh shared her thoughts on preventing this increased risk of acute MI at a relatively young age: “Effective prevention might focus on behavior, lifestyle, and psychosocial stress in early life. If a healthy lifestyle is encouraged as early as possible in childhood and adolescence, it is more likely to persist into adulthood and to improve longterm health. So look for signs of stress, depression, or anxiety that is beyond normal teenager behavior and a persistent problem. Teenagers with poor well-being could benefit from additional support to encourage exercise and also to develop strategies to deal with stress.”

She reported having no financial conflicts regarding her study, conducted free of commercial support.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Bergh C et al. ESC 2020, Abstract 90524.

Current American and European guidelines recommending long-term beta-blocker therapy following an acute MI appear to be obsolete in the modern reperfusion era, suggests an analysis of Danish registry data.

Those guidelines are based on old randomized trials of beta-blocker therapy conducted prior to introduction of routine percutaneous coronary intervention and modern multidrug optimal medical therapy for acute MI. There have been no prospective controlled studies in the reperfusion era. And a new Danish national observational study strongly suggests it’s time to reexamine the beta-blocker recommendation, Anders Holt, MD, said at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

“Stable, optimally treated MI patients do not seem to benefit from beta-blocker treatment exceeding 3 months post hospitalization – bearing in mind this doesn’t apply to patients with other indications for beta-blockers, like heart failure or atrial fibrillation,” said Dr. Holt of Copenhagen University Hospital.

His analysis of Danish national registry data on more than 30,000 patients hospitalized for acute MI during 2003-2018 earned him the annual ESC Young Investigator Award in Population Science.

Frontline Medical News

“This was a crisp and clear presentation of a very creative use of observational epidemiology to try to understand the length of therapy that may or may not be appropriate,” commented award session cochair Paul M. Ridker, MD, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, both in Boston.

Dr. Holt reported on 30,177 patients optimally treated for a first MI in Danish hospitals during 2003-2018, none of whom had a prior indication or contraindication for beta-blocker therapy. “Optimally treated” meant they underwent percutaneous coronary revascularization and were discharged on a statin and aspirin. As a study requirement, all had to be stable 90 days post hospitalization, at which point 24,770 of the patients were on long-term beta-blocker therapy, and 5,407 (18%) were not. The two groups were comparable in terms of age, sex, comorbidities, and baseline medications. All patients were followed through the registries for a maximum of 3 years, the duration of beta-blocker therapy post MI recommended in American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guidelines. (The Danish Society of Cardiology recommends 2 years.)

At 3 years post MI, there was no between-group difference in a composite outcome comprising cardiovascular death, recurrent MI, heart failure, stroke, angina, or a cardiac procedure, with a rate of 22.9% in the beta-blocker group and 21.6% in patients not on long-term beta-blocker therapy. The rate of recurrent MI was identical at 6.7% in both groups. Cardiovascular death occurred during 3 years of follow-up in 1.4% of patients on beta-blocker therapy and 1.7% who weren’t, a nonsignificant difference.

“We saw no evidence of any cardioprotective effect, but no increased risk of adverse events resulting in hospitalization, either,” Dr. Holt observed. “I would like to acknowledge that no evidence of effect does not necessarily equal evidence of no effect, but even if there was an effect we can with fair certainty say that it’s probably quite minimal.”

He noted that the Danish registry data indicates that each year since 2012 has shown a growing trend for Danish patients to dispense with long-term beta-blocker therapy after an acute MI.

“This might indicate we are nudging toward a change in practice, where more physicians are thinking that long-term beta-blocker therapy might not be indicated for all MI patients in the reperfusion era,” according to Dr. Holt.

Asked by the four-judge award panel about the possibility of unmeasured confounding in this observational study, Dr Holt responded: “I would be very cautious about asking patients to stop beta-blocker therapy after 3 months just based on this observational data. We can’t speak to causality in an observational study.” But he added that “well-designed observational studies provide valuable data regarding this topic and should not be ignored. They should possibly influence the guidelines and the designs for upcoming randomized trials.”

He conducted several supplementary analyses designed to address the possibility of unevenly distributed unmeasured confounding in the registry study. These analyses proved reassuring. A positive exposure control analysis compared 3-year outcomes in patients who remained on long-term statin therapy and those who didn’t. As expected, outcomes were significantly better in those who did: a 3-year composite outcome rate of 22.1%, compared with 32.1% in patients not on a statin; a cardiovascular death rate of 1.3% with and 2.1% without statin therapy; a recurrent MI rate of 6.6%, compared with 10.1% without a statin; and a 2.8% all-cause mortality with and 5.4% without statin therapy.

In contrast, all-cause mortality was unaffected by whether or not patients were on long-term beta-blocker therapy. And in a negative exposure outcome analysis, no association was found between beta-blocker therapy and the risk of hospitalization for pneumonia, as to be expected if the beta-blocker and no-beta-blocker groups were comparable in key respects.

Dr. Holt reported having no financial conflicts regarding his study.

[email protected]

Current American and European guidelines recommending long-term beta-blocker therapy following an acute MI appear to be obsolete in the modern reperfusion era, suggests an analysis of Danish registry data.

Those guidelines are based on old randomized trials of beta-blocker therapy conducted prior to introduction of routine percutaneous coronary intervention and modern multidrug optimal medical therapy for acute MI. There have been no prospective controlled studies in the reperfusion era. And a new Danish national observational study strongly suggests it’s time to reexamine the beta-blocker recommendation, Anders Holt, MD, said at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

“Stable, optimally treated MI patients do not seem to benefit from beta-blocker treatment exceeding 3 months post hospitalization – bearing in mind this doesn’t apply to patients with other indications for beta-blockers, like heart failure or atrial fibrillation,” said Dr. Holt of Copenhagen University Hospital.

His analysis of Danish national registry data on more than 30,000 patients hospitalized for acute MI during 2003-2018 earned him the annual ESC Young Investigator Award in Population Science.

Frontline Medical News

“This was a crisp and clear presentation of a very creative use of observational epidemiology to try to understand the length of therapy that may or may not be appropriate,” commented award session cochair Paul M. Ridker, MD, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, both in Boston.

Dr. Holt reported on 30,177 patients optimally treated for a first MI in Danish hospitals during 2003-2018, none of whom had a prior indication or contraindication for beta-blocker therapy. “Optimally treated” meant they underwent percutaneous coronary revascularization and were discharged on a statin and aspirin. As a study requirement, all had to be stable 90 days post hospitalization, at which point 24,770 of the patients were on long-term beta-blocker therapy, and 5,407 (18%) were not. The two groups were comparable in terms of age, sex, comorbidities, and baseline medications. All patients were followed through the registries for a maximum of 3 years, the duration of beta-blocker therapy post MI recommended in American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guidelines. (The Danish Society of Cardiology recommends 2 years.)

At 3 years post MI, there was no between-group difference in a composite outcome comprising cardiovascular death, recurrent MI, heart failure, stroke, angina, or a cardiac procedure, with a rate of 22.9% in the beta-blocker group and 21.6% in patients not on long-term beta-blocker therapy. The rate of recurrent MI was identical at 6.7% in both groups. Cardiovascular death occurred during 3 years of follow-up in 1.4% of patients on beta-blocker therapy and 1.7% who weren’t, a nonsignificant difference.

“We saw no evidence of any cardioprotective effect, but no increased risk of adverse events resulting in hospitalization, either,” Dr. Holt observed. “I would like to acknowledge that no evidence of effect does not necessarily equal evidence of no effect, but even if there was an effect we can with fair certainty say that it’s probably quite minimal.”

He noted that the Danish registry data indicates that each year since 2012 has shown a growing trend for Danish patients to dispense with long-term beta-blocker therapy after an acute MI.

“This might indicate we are nudging toward a change in practice, where more physicians are thinking that long-term beta-blocker therapy might not be indicated for all MI patients in the reperfusion era,” according to Dr. Holt.

Asked by the four-judge award panel about the possibility of unmeasured confounding in this observational study, Dr Holt responded: “I would be very cautious about asking patients to stop beta-blocker therapy after 3 months just based on this observational data. We can’t speak to causality in an observational study.” But he added that “well-designed observational studies provide valuable data regarding this topic and should not be ignored. They should possibly influence the guidelines and the designs for upcoming randomized trials.”

He conducted several supplementary analyses designed to address the possibility of unevenly distributed unmeasured confounding in the registry study. These analyses proved reassuring. A positive exposure control analysis compared 3-year outcomes in patients who remained on long-term statin therapy and those who didn’t. As expected, outcomes were significantly better in those who did: a 3-year composite outcome rate of 22.1%, compared with 32.1% in patients not on a statin; a cardiovascular death rate of 1.3% with and 2.1% without statin therapy; a recurrent MI rate of 6.6%, compared with 10.1% without a statin; and a 2.8% all-cause mortality with and 5.4% without statin therapy.

In contrast, all-cause mortality was unaffected by whether or not patients were on long-term beta-blocker therapy. And in a negative exposure outcome analysis, no association was found between beta-blocker therapy and the risk of hospitalization for pneumonia, as to be expected if the beta-blocker and no-beta-blocker groups were comparable in key respects.

Dr. Holt reported having no financial conflicts regarding his study.

[email protected]

Current American and European guidelines recommending long-term beta-blocker therapy following an acute MI appear to be obsolete in the modern reperfusion era, suggests an analysis of Danish registry data.

Those guidelines are based on old randomized trials of beta-blocker therapy conducted prior to introduction of routine percutaneous coronary intervention and modern multidrug optimal medical therapy for acute MI. There have been no prospective controlled studies in the reperfusion era. And a new Danish national observational study strongly suggests it’s time to reexamine the beta-blocker recommendation, Anders Holt, MD, said at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

“Stable, optimally treated MI patients do not seem to benefit from beta-blocker treatment exceeding 3 months post hospitalization – bearing in mind this doesn’t apply to patients with other indications for beta-blockers, like heart failure or atrial fibrillation,” said Dr. Holt of Copenhagen University Hospital.

His analysis of Danish national registry data on more than 30,000 patients hospitalized for acute MI during 2003-2018 earned him the annual ESC Young Investigator Award in Population Science.

Frontline Medical News

“This was a crisp and clear presentation of a very creative use of observational epidemiology to try to understand the length of therapy that may or may not be appropriate,” commented award session cochair Paul M. Ridker, MD, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, both in Boston.

Dr. Holt reported on 30,177 patients optimally treated for a first MI in Danish hospitals during 2003-2018, none of whom had a prior indication or contraindication for beta-blocker therapy. “Optimally treated” meant they underwent percutaneous coronary revascularization and were discharged on a statin and aspirin. As a study requirement, all had to be stable 90 days post hospitalization, at which point 24,770 of the patients were on long-term beta-blocker therapy, and 5,407 (18%) were not. The two groups were comparable in terms of age, sex, comorbidities, and baseline medications. All patients were followed through the registries for a maximum of 3 years, the duration of beta-blocker therapy post MI recommended in American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guidelines. (The Danish Society of Cardiology recommends 2 years.)

At 3 years post MI, there was no between-group difference in a composite outcome comprising cardiovascular death, recurrent MI, heart failure, stroke, angina, or a cardiac procedure, with a rate of 22.9% in the beta-blocker group and 21.6% in patients not on long-term beta-blocker therapy. The rate of recurrent MI was identical at 6.7% in both groups. Cardiovascular death occurred during 3 years of follow-up in 1.4% of patients on beta-blocker therapy and 1.7% who weren’t, a nonsignificant difference.

“We saw no evidence of any cardioprotective effect, but no increased risk of adverse events resulting in hospitalization, either,” Dr. Holt observed. “I would like to acknowledge that no evidence of effect does not necessarily equal evidence of no effect, but even if there was an effect we can with fair certainty say that it’s probably quite minimal.”

He noted that the Danish registry data indicates that each year since 2012 has shown a growing trend for Danish patients to dispense with long-term beta-blocker therapy after an acute MI.

“This might indicate we are nudging toward a change in practice, where more physicians are thinking that long-term beta-blocker therapy might not be indicated for all MI patients in the reperfusion era,” according to Dr. Holt.

Asked by the four-judge award panel about the possibility of unmeasured confounding in this observational study, Dr Holt responded: “I would be very cautious about asking patients to stop beta-blocker therapy after 3 months just based on this observational data. We can’t speak to causality in an observational study.” But he added that “well-designed observational studies provide valuable data regarding this topic and should not be ignored. They should possibly influence the guidelines and the designs for upcoming randomized trials.”

He conducted several supplementary analyses designed to address the possibility of unevenly distributed unmeasured confounding in the registry study. These analyses proved reassuring. A positive exposure control analysis compared 3-year outcomes in patients who remained on long-term statin therapy and those who didn’t. As expected, outcomes were significantly better in those who did: a 3-year composite outcome rate of 22.1%, compared with 32.1% in patients not on a statin; a cardiovascular death rate of 1.3% with and 2.1% without statin therapy; a recurrent MI rate of 6.6%, compared with 10.1% without a statin; and a 2.8% all-cause mortality with and 5.4% without statin therapy.

In contrast, all-cause mortality was unaffected by whether or not patients were on long-term beta-blocker therapy. And in a negative exposure outcome analysis, no association was found between beta-blocker therapy and the risk of hospitalization for pneumonia, as to be expected if the beta-blocker and no-beta-blocker groups were comparable in key respects.

Dr. Holt reported having no financial conflicts regarding his study.

[email protected]

New guidelines on sports cardiology from the European Society of Cardiology break fresh ground by green-lighting participation in vigorous competitive sports by selected patients with stable coronary artery disease, heart failure, or mild arrhythmias.

These liberalized guidelines, released at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology, thus move well beyond the standard exercise advice to engage in about 150 minutes per week of moderate physical activity, typically defined as brisk walking or its equivalent.

The guidelines reflect a conviction that exercise is powerful medicine for patients with cardiovascular disease and also affords a means to help curb the epidemics of diabetes and obesity that drive cardiovascular risk, according to Antonio Pelliccia, MD, who cochaired the 24-member task force of European and American experts that developed the guidelines.

In a session highlighting the new sports cardiology guidelines, Mats Borjesson, MD, head of the Center for Health and Performance at Gothenburg (Sweden) University, summarized the section devoted to patients with stable coronary artery disease: “If you have established CAD and a low risk of adverse events during exercise, you are eligible for high-intensity exercise and competitive sports. But if you have persistent ischemia despite medical treatment, or symptoms, then you’re only eligible for leisure-time subthreshold activity.”

Dr. Pelliccia put this new recommendation into context.

“We are not talking anymore in this particular disease just about cardiac rehabilitation or leisure-time activity, but we are also opening the border and talking about competitive sports activity in selected patients where you have the evidence for low risk of exercise-induced adverse events. This is a major achievement now for what is the major disease in our adult population,” said Dr. Pelliccia, chief of cardiology at the Institute of Sports Medicine and Science at the Italian National Olympic Committee and professor of sports cardiology at La Sapienza University of Rome.

The recommendation for individualized consideration of all types of exercise, even including vigorous competitive sports, in low-risk patients with CAD gets a class IIa, level of evidence (LOE) C recommendation in the new guidelines. That’s a big step down from a ringing class Ia endorsement, but since sports cardiology is a relatively young field with little evidence that’s based on randomized trials, the guidelines are rife with many other class IIa, LOE C recommendations as well.

“The level of evidence is rather low, so these guidelines are very much the personal perspective of the expert panel,” explained Martin Halle, MD, professor and head of the department of prevention, rehabilitation, and sports cardiology at Technical University of Munich.

The high-risk features for exercise-induced cardiac adverse events in patients with longstanding stable CAD, as cited in the guidelines, include a critical coronary stenosis, defined as a more than 70% lesion in a major coronary artery or a greater than 50% stenosis in the left main, and/or a fractional flow reserve score of less than 0.8; a left ventricular ejection fraction of 50% or less with wall-motion abnormalities; inducible myocardial ischemia on maximal exercise testing; nonsustained ventricular tachycardia; polymorphic or very frequent ventricular premature beats at rest and during maximum stress; and a recent acute coronary syndrome (ACS). These features call for an exercise prescription tailored to remain below the patient’s angina and ischemia thresholds.

“It’s important for cardiologists out there to understand that we definitely need a maximal exercise test. In somebody who is running and has an ACS and then wants to start running again, 200 watts on an ergometer is too low. We have to push them up to the end, and then if everything is okay – left ventricular function is okay, no ischemia, no arrhythmias under exercise testing – then it’s fine,” Dr. Halle said.

Dr. Pelliccia added that close follow-up is needed, because this is an evolving disease.”
 

Exercise and heart failure

Massimo F. Piepoli, MD, PhD, noted that the guidelines give a class IIb, LOE C recommendation for consideration of high-intensity recreational endurance and power sports in patients with heart failure with either midrange or preserved ejection fraction, provided they are stable, asymptomatic, on optimal guideline-directed medical therapy, and without abnormalities on a maximal exercise stress test.

European Society of Cardiology

However, such intense physical activity is not recommended in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, regardless of their symptom status, added Dr. Piepoli of Guglielmo da Saliceto Hospital in Placenza, Italy.

“We’re talking here, I think for the first time, about possible competitive sports participation in individuals with heart failure, depending on their clinical condition. We are really opening the barriers to sports participation, even in these patients in whom we never thought of it before,” Dr. Pelliccia observed.

Valvular heart disease and exercise

Guidelines panelist Sabiha Gati, MRCP, PhD, said asymptomatic individuals with mild valvular abnormalities can participate in all recreational and competitive sports; that’s a class I, LOE C recommendation.

European Society of Cardiology

“Moderate regurgitant lesions are better tolerated than stenotic lesions, and those with preserved systolic function, good functional capacity, without any exercise-induced arrhythmias or ischemia or abnormal hemodynamic response are considered to be low risk and can participate in all sports,” added Dr. Gati, a cardiologist at Royal Brompton Hospital, London.

The two most common valvular abnormalities encountered in clinical practice are bicuspid aortic valve and mitral valve prolapse. Dr. Gati noted that, while mitral valve prolapse has a benign prognosis in the great majority of affected individuals, the presence of specific features indicative of increased risk for sudden cardiac death precludes participation in strenuous exercise. These include T-wave inversion in the inferior leads on a 12-lead ECG, long QT, bileaflet mitral valve prolapse, basal inferolateral wall fibrosis, severe mitral regurgitation, or a family history of sudden cardiac death.

Bicuspid aortic valve has a prevalence of 1%-2% in the general population. It can be associated with aortic stenosis, aortic regurgitation, and increased risk of ascending aortic aneurysm and dissection. Since it remains unclear whether intensive exercise accelerates aortic dilatation, a cautious approach to sports participation is recommended in patients with an ascending aorta above the normal limit of 40 mm, she said.

The 80-page ESC sports cardiology guidelines, published online simultaneously with their presentation, cover a broad range of additional topics, including exercise recommendations for the general public, for the elderly, as well as for patients with cardiomyopathies, adult congenital heart disease, arrhythmias, and channelopathies. Gaps in evidence are also highlighted.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Pelliccia A. ESC 2020 and Eur Heart J. 2020 Aug 29. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa605.

New guidelines on sports cardiology from the European Society of Cardiology break fresh ground by green-lighting participation in vigorous competitive sports by selected patients with stable coronary artery disease, heart failure, or mild arrhythmias.

These liberalized guidelines, released at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology, thus move well beyond the standard exercise advice to engage in about 150 minutes per week of moderate physical activity, typically defined as brisk walking or its equivalent.

The guidelines reflect a conviction that exercise is powerful medicine for patients with cardiovascular disease and also affords a means to help curb the epidemics of diabetes and obesity that drive cardiovascular risk, according to Antonio Pelliccia, MD, who cochaired the 24-member task force of European and American experts that developed the guidelines.

In a session highlighting the new sports cardiology guidelines, Mats Borjesson, MD, head of the Center for Health and Performance at Gothenburg (Sweden) University, summarized the section devoted to patients with stable coronary artery disease: “If you have established CAD and a low risk of adverse events during exercise, you are eligible for high-intensity exercise and competitive sports. But if you have persistent ischemia despite medical treatment, or symptoms, then you’re only eligible for leisure-time subthreshold activity.”

Dr. Pelliccia put this new recommendation into context.

“We are not talking anymore in this particular disease just about cardiac rehabilitation or leisure-time activity, but we are also opening the border and talking about competitive sports activity in selected patients where you have the evidence for low risk of exercise-induced adverse events. This is a major achievement now for what is the major disease in our adult population,” said Dr. Pelliccia, chief of cardiology at the Institute of Sports Medicine and Science at the Italian National Olympic Committee and professor of sports cardiology at La Sapienza University of Rome.

The recommendation for individualized consideration of all types of exercise, even including vigorous competitive sports, in low-risk patients with CAD gets a class IIa, level of evidence (LOE) C recommendation in the new guidelines. That’s a big step down from a ringing class Ia endorsement, but since sports cardiology is a relatively young field with little evidence that’s based on randomized trials, the guidelines are rife with many other class IIa, LOE C recommendations as well.

“The level of evidence is rather low, so these guidelines are very much the personal perspective of the expert panel,” explained Martin Halle, MD, professor and head of the department of prevention, rehabilitation, and sports cardiology at Technical University of Munich.

The high-risk features for exercise-induced cardiac adverse events in patients with longstanding stable CAD, as cited in the guidelines, include a critical coronary stenosis, defined as a more than 70% lesion in a major coronary artery or a greater than 50% stenosis in the left main, and/or a fractional flow reserve score of less than 0.8; a left ventricular ejection fraction of 50% or less with wall-motion abnormalities; inducible myocardial ischemia on maximal exercise testing; nonsustained ventricular tachycardia; polymorphic or very frequent ventricular premature beats at rest and during maximum stress; and a recent acute coronary syndrome (ACS). These features call for an exercise prescription tailored to remain below the patient’s angina and ischemia thresholds.

“It’s important for cardiologists out there to understand that we definitely need a maximal exercise test. In somebody who is running and has an ACS and then wants to start running again, 200 watts on an ergometer is too low. We have to push them up to the end, and then if everything is okay – left ventricular function is okay, no ischemia, no arrhythmias under exercise testing – then it’s fine,” Dr. Halle said.

Dr. Pelliccia added that close follow-up is needed, because this is an evolving disease.”
 

Exercise and heart failure

Massimo F. Piepoli, MD, PhD, noted that the guidelines give a class IIb, LOE C recommendation for consideration of high-intensity recreational endurance and power sports in patients with heart failure with either midrange or preserved ejection fraction, provided they are stable, asymptomatic, on optimal guideline-directed medical therapy, and without abnormalities on a maximal exercise stress test.

European Society of Cardiology

However, such intense physical activity is not recommended in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, regardless of their symptom status, added Dr. Piepoli of Guglielmo da Saliceto Hospital in Placenza, Italy.

“We’re talking here, I think for the first time, about possible competitive sports participation in individuals with heart failure, depending on their clinical condition. We are really opening the barriers to sports participation, even in these patients in whom we never thought of it before,” Dr. Pelliccia observed.

Valvular heart disease and exercise

Guidelines panelist Sabiha Gati, MRCP, PhD, said asymptomatic individuals with mild valvular abnormalities can participate in all recreational and competitive sports; that’s a class I, LOE C recommendation.

European Society of Cardiology

“Moderate regurgitant lesions are better tolerated than stenotic lesions, and those with preserved systolic function, good functional capacity, without any exercise-induced arrhythmias or ischemia or abnormal hemodynamic response are considered to be low risk and can participate in all sports,” added Dr. Gati, a cardiologist at Royal Brompton Hospital, London.

The two most common valvular abnormalities encountered in clinical practice are bicuspid aortic valve and mitral valve prolapse. Dr. Gati noted that, while mitral valve prolapse has a benign prognosis in the great majority of affected individuals, the presence of specific features indicative of increased risk for sudden cardiac death precludes participation in strenuous exercise. These include T-wave inversion in the inferior leads on a 12-lead ECG, long QT, bileaflet mitral valve prolapse, basal inferolateral wall fibrosis, severe mitral regurgitation, or a family history of sudden cardiac death.

Bicuspid aortic valve has a prevalence of 1%-2% in the general population. It can be associated with aortic stenosis, aortic regurgitation, and increased risk of ascending aortic aneurysm and dissection. Since it remains unclear whether intensive exercise accelerates aortic dilatation, a cautious approach to sports participation is recommended in patients with an ascending aorta above the normal limit of 40 mm, she said.

The 80-page ESC sports cardiology guidelines, published online simultaneously with their presentation, cover a broad range of additional topics, including exercise recommendations for the general public, for the elderly, as well as for patients with cardiomyopathies, adult congenital heart disease, arrhythmias, and channelopathies. Gaps in evidence are also highlighted.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Pelliccia A. ESC 2020 and Eur Heart J. 2020 Aug 29. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa605.

New guidelines on sports cardiology from the European Society of Cardiology break fresh ground by green-lighting participation in vigorous competitive sports by selected patients with stable coronary artery disease, heart failure, or mild arrhythmias.

These liberalized guidelines, released at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology, thus move well beyond the standard exercise advice to engage in about 150 minutes per week of moderate physical activity, typically defined as brisk walking or its equivalent.

The guidelines reflect a conviction that exercise is powerful medicine for patients with cardiovascular disease and also affords a means to help curb the epidemics of diabetes and obesity that drive cardiovascular risk, according to Antonio Pelliccia, MD, who cochaired the 24-member task force of European and American experts that developed the guidelines.

In a session highlighting the new sports cardiology guidelines, Mats Borjesson, MD, head of the Center for Health and Performance at Gothenburg (Sweden) University, summarized the section devoted to patients with stable coronary artery disease: “If you have established CAD and a low risk of adverse events during exercise, you are eligible for high-intensity exercise and competitive sports. But if you have persistent ischemia despite medical treatment, or symptoms, then you’re only eligible for leisure-time subthreshold activity.”

Dr. Pelliccia put this new recommendation into context.

“We are not talking anymore in this particular disease just about cardiac rehabilitation or leisure-time activity, but we are also opening the border and talking about competitive sports activity in selected patients where you have the evidence for low risk of exercise-induced adverse events. This is a major achievement now for what is the major disease in our adult population,” said Dr. Pelliccia, chief of cardiology at the Institute of Sports Medicine and Science at the Italian National Olympic Committee and professor of sports cardiology at La Sapienza University of Rome.

The recommendation for individualized consideration of all types of exercise, even including vigorous competitive sports, in low-risk patients with CAD gets a class IIa, level of evidence (LOE) C recommendation in the new guidelines. That’s a big step down from a ringing class Ia endorsement, but since sports cardiology is a relatively young field with little evidence that’s based on randomized trials, the guidelines are rife with many other class IIa, LOE C recommendations as well.

“The level of evidence is rather low, so these guidelines are very much the personal perspective of the expert panel,” explained Martin Halle, MD, professor and head of the department of prevention, rehabilitation, and sports cardiology at Technical University of Munich.

The high-risk features for exercise-induced cardiac adverse events in patients with longstanding stable CAD, as cited in the guidelines, include a critical coronary stenosis, defined as a more than 70% lesion in a major coronary artery or a greater than 50% stenosis in the left main, and/or a fractional flow reserve score of less than 0.8; a left ventricular ejection fraction of 50% or less with wall-motion abnormalities; inducible myocardial ischemia on maximal exercise testing; nonsustained ventricular tachycardia; polymorphic or very frequent ventricular premature beats at rest and during maximum stress; and a recent acute coronary syndrome (ACS). These features call for an exercise prescription tailored to remain below the patient’s angina and ischemia thresholds.

“It’s important for cardiologists out there to understand that we definitely need a maximal exercise test. In somebody who is running and has an ACS and then wants to start running again, 200 watts on an ergometer is too low. We have to push them up to the end, and then if everything is okay – left ventricular function is okay, no ischemia, no arrhythmias under exercise testing – then it’s fine,” Dr. Halle said.

Dr. Pelliccia added that close follow-up is needed, because this is an evolving disease.”
 

Exercise and heart failure

Massimo F. Piepoli, MD, PhD, noted that the guidelines give a class IIb, LOE C recommendation for consideration of high-intensity recreational endurance and power sports in patients with heart failure with either midrange or preserved ejection fraction, provided they are stable, asymptomatic, on optimal guideline-directed medical therapy, and without abnormalities on a maximal exercise stress test.

European Society of Cardiology

However, such intense physical activity is not recommended in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, regardless of their symptom status, added Dr. Piepoli of Guglielmo da Saliceto Hospital in Placenza, Italy.

“We’re talking here, I think for the first time, about possible competitive sports participation in individuals with heart failure, depending on their clinical condition. We are really opening the barriers to sports participation, even in these patients in whom we never thought of it before,” Dr. Pelliccia observed.

Valvular heart disease and exercise

Guidelines panelist Sabiha Gati, MRCP, PhD, said asymptomatic individuals with mild valvular abnormalities can participate in all recreational and competitive sports; that’s a class I, LOE C recommendation.

European Society of Cardiology

“Moderate regurgitant lesions are better tolerated than stenotic lesions, and those with preserved systolic function, good functional capacity, without any exercise-induced arrhythmias or ischemia or abnormal hemodynamic response are considered to be low risk and can participate in all sports,” added Dr. Gati, a cardiologist at Royal Brompton Hospital, London.

The two most common valvular abnormalities encountered in clinical practice are bicuspid aortic valve and mitral valve prolapse. Dr. Gati noted that, while mitral valve prolapse has a benign prognosis in the great majority of affected individuals, the presence of specific features indicative of increased risk for sudden cardiac death precludes participation in strenuous exercise. These include T-wave inversion in the inferior leads on a 12-lead ECG, long QT, bileaflet mitral valve prolapse, basal inferolateral wall fibrosis, severe mitral regurgitation, or a family history of sudden cardiac death.

Bicuspid aortic valve has a prevalence of 1%-2% in the general population. It can be associated with aortic stenosis, aortic regurgitation, and increased risk of ascending aortic aneurysm and dissection. Since it remains unclear whether intensive exercise accelerates aortic dilatation, a cautious approach to sports participation is recommended in patients with an ascending aorta above the normal limit of 40 mm, she said.

The 80-page ESC sports cardiology guidelines, published online simultaneously with their presentation, cover a broad range of additional topics, including exercise recommendations for the general public, for the elderly, as well as for patients with cardiomyopathies, adult congenital heart disease, arrhythmias, and channelopathies. Gaps in evidence are also highlighted.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Pelliccia A. ESC 2020 and Eur Heart J. 2020 Aug 29. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa605.

Individualized 10-year and lifetime risks of cancer can now for the first time be estimated in patients with established cardiovascular disease, Cilie C. van ’t Klooster, MD, reported at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

©sripfoto/Thinkstock.com

She and her coinvestigators have developed an easy-to-use predictive model that generates individualized risk estimates for total cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer. The tool relies on nine readily available clinical variables: age, sex, smoking, weight, height, alcohol use, diabetes, antiplatelet drug use, and C-reactive protein level. The cancer risk calculator factors in an individual’s competing risk of death because of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

The risk calculator was developed using data on 7,280 patients with established CVD enrolled in the ongoing long-term Dutch UCC-SMART (Utrecht Cardiovascular Cohort – Second Manifestations of Arterial Disease) study, then independently validated in 9,322 patients in the double-blind CANTOS (Canakinumab Anti-Inflammatory Thrombosis Outcomes) trial, explained Dr. van ’t Klooster of Utrecht (the Netherlands) University.

Several other prediction models estimate the risk of a specific type of cancer, most commonly breast cancer or lung cancer. But the new Utrecht prediction tool is the first one to estimate total cancer risk. It’s also the first to apply specifically to patients with known CVD, thus filling an unmet need, because patients with established CVD are known to be on average at 19% increased risk of total cancer and 56% greater risk for lung cancer, compared with the general population. This is thought to be caused mainly by shared risk factors, including smoking, obesity, and low-grade systemic inflammation.

As the Utrecht/CANTOS analysis shows, however, that 19% increased relative risk for cancer in patients with CVD doesn’t tell the whole story. While the median lifetime and 10-year risks of total cancer in CANTOS were 26% and 10%, respectively, the individual patient risks for total cancer estimated using the Dutch prediction model ranged from 1% to 52% for lifetime and from 1% to 31% for 10-year risk. The same was true for lung cancer risk: median 5% lifetime and 2% 10-year risks, with individual patient risks ranging from 0% to 37% and from 0% to 24%. Likewise for colorectal cancer: a median 4% lifetime risk, ranging from 0% to 6%, and a median 2% risk over the next 10 years, with personalized risks ranging as high as 13% for lifetime risk and 6% for 10-year colorectal cancer risk.

The risk calculator performed “reasonably well,” according to Dr. van ’t Klooster. She pointed to a C-statistic of 0.74 for lung cancer, 0.63 for total cancer, and 0.64 for colorectal cancer. It’s possible the risk predictor’s performance could be further enhanced by incorporation of several potentially important factors that weren’t available in the UCC-SMART derivation cohort, including race, education level, and socioeconomic status, she added.

Potential applications for the risk calculator in clinical practice require further study, but include using the lifetime risk prediction for cancer as a motivational aid in conversations with patients about the importance of behavioral change in support of a healthier lifestyle. Also, a high predicted 10-year lung cancer risk could potentially be used to lower the threshold for a screening chest CT, resulting in earlier detection and treatment of lung cancer, Dr. van ’t Klooster noted.

In an interview, Bonnie Ky, MD, MSCE, praised the risk prediction study as rigorously executed, topical, and clinically significant.

“This paper signifies the overlap between our two disciplines of cancer and cardiovascular disease in terms of the risks that we face together when we care for this patient population,” said Dr. Ky, a cardiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

“Many of us in medicine believe in the importance of risk prediction: identifying who’s at high risk and doing everything we can to mitigate that risk. This paper speaks to that and moves us one step closer to accomplishing that aim,” added Dr. Ky, who is editor in chief of JACC: CardioOncology, which published the study simultaneously with Dr. van ’t Klooster’s presentation at ESC 2020. The paper provides direct access to the risk calculator.

Dr. van ’t Klooster reported having no financial conflicts regarding her study. UCC-SMART is funded by a Utrecht University grant, and CANTOS was funded by Novartis.

[email protected]

SOURCE: van ’t Klooster CC. ESC 2020 and JACC CardioOncol. 2020 Aug. doi: 10.1016/j.jaccao.2020.07.001.

Individualized 10-year and lifetime risks of cancer can now for the first time be estimated in patients with established cardiovascular disease, Cilie C. van ’t Klooster, MD, reported at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

©sripfoto/Thinkstock.com

She and her coinvestigators have developed an easy-to-use predictive model that generates individualized risk estimates for total cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer. The tool relies on nine readily available clinical variables: age, sex, smoking, weight, height, alcohol use, diabetes, antiplatelet drug use, and C-reactive protein level. The cancer risk calculator factors in an individual’s competing risk of death because of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

The risk calculator was developed using data on 7,280 patients with established CVD enrolled in the ongoing long-term Dutch UCC-SMART (Utrecht Cardiovascular Cohort – Second Manifestations of Arterial Disease) study, then independently validated in 9,322 patients in the double-blind CANTOS (Canakinumab Anti-Inflammatory Thrombosis Outcomes) trial, explained Dr. van ’t Klooster of Utrecht (the Netherlands) University.

Several other prediction models estimate the risk of a specific type of cancer, most commonly breast cancer or lung cancer. But the new Utrecht prediction tool is the first one to estimate total cancer risk. It’s also the first to apply specifically to patients with known CVD, thus filling an unmet need, because patients with established CVD are known to be on average at 19% increased risk of total cancer and 56% greater risk for lung cancer, compared with the general population. This is thought to be caused mainly by shared risk factors, including smoking, obesity, and low-grade systemic inflammation.

As the Utrecht/CANTOS analysis shows, however, that 19% increased relative risk for cancer in patients with CVD doesn’t tell the whole story. While the median lifetime and 10-year risks of total cancer in CANTOS were 26% and 10%, respectively, the individual patient risks for total cancer estimated using the Dutch prediction model ranged from 1% to 52% for lifetime and from 1% to 31% for 10-year risk. The same was true for lung cancer risk: median 5% lifetime and 2% 10-year risks, with individual patient risks ranging from 0% to 37% and from 0% to 24%. Likewise for colorectal cancer: a median 4% lifetime risk, ranging from 0% to 6%, and a median 2% risk over the next 10 years, with personalized risks ranging as high as 13% for lifetime risk and 6% for 10-year colorectal cancer risk.

The risk calculator performed “reasonably well,” according to Dr. van ’t Klooster. She pointed to a C-statistic of 0.74 for lung cancer, 0.63 for total cancer, and 0.64 for colorectal cancer. It’s possible the risk predictor’s performance could be further enhanced by incorporation of several potentially important factors that weren’t available in the UCC-SMART derivation cohort, including race, education level, and socioeconomic status, she added.

Potential applications for the risk calculator in clinical practice require further study, but include using the lifetime risk prediction for cancer as a motivational aid in conversations with patients about the importance of behavioral change in support of a healthier lifestyle. Also, a high predicted 10-year lung cancer risk could potentially be used to lower the threshold for a screening chest CT, resulting in earlier detection and treatment of lung cancer, Dr. van ’t Klooster noted.

In an interview, Bonnie Ky, MD, MSCE, praised the risk prediction study as rigorously executed, topical, and clinically significant.

“This paper signifies the overlap between our two disciplines of cancer and cardiovascular disease in terms of the risks that we face together when we care for this patient population,” said Dr. Ky, a cardiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

“Many of us in medicine believe in the importance of risk prediction: identifying who’s at high risk and doing everything we can to mitigate that risk. This paper speaks to that and moves us one step closer to accomplishing that aim,” added Dr. Ky, who is editor in chief of JACC: CardioOncology, which published the study simultaneously with Dr. van ’t Klooster’s presentation at ESC 2020. The paper provides direct access to the risk calculator.

Dr. van ’t Klooster reported having no financial conflicts regarding her study. UCC-SMART is funded by a Utrecht University grant, and CANTOS was funded by Novartis.

[email protected]

SOURCE: van ’t Klooster CC. ESC 2020 and JACC CardioOncol. 2020 Aug. doi: 10.1016/j.jaccao.2020.07.001.

Individualized 10-year and lifetime risks of cancer can now for the first time be estimated in patients with established cardiovascular disease, Cilie C. van ’t Klooster, MD, reported at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

©sripfoto/Thinkstock.com

She and her coinvestigators have developed an easy-to-use predictive model that generates individualized risk estimates for total cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer. The tool relies on nine readily available clinical variables: age, sex, smoking, weight, height, alcohol use, diabetes, antiplatelet drug use, and C-reactive protein level. The cancer risk calculator factors in an individual’s competing risk of death because of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

The risk calculator was developed using data on 7,280 patients with established CVD enrolled in the ongoing long-term Dutch UCC-SMART (Utrecht Cardiovascular Cohort – Second Manifestations of Arterial Disease) study, then independently validated in 9,322 patients in the double-blind CANTOS (Canakinumab Anti-Inflammatory Thrombosis Outcomes) trial, explained Dr. van ’t Klooster of Utrecht (the Netherlands) University.

Several other prediction models estimate the risk of a specific type of cancer, most commonly breast cancer or lung cancer. But the new Utrecht prediction tool is the first one to estimate total cancer risk. It’s also the first to apply specifically to patients with known CVD, thus filling an unmet need, because patients with established CVD are known to be on average at 19% increased risk of total cancer and 56% greater risk for lung cancer, compared with the general population. This is thought to be caused mainly by shared risk factors, including smoking, obesity, and low-grade systemic inflammation.

As the Utrecht/CANTOS analysis shows, however, that 19% increased relative risk for cancer in patients with CVD doesn’t tell the whole story. While the median lifetime and 10-year risks of total cancer in CANTOS were 26% and 10%, respectively, the individual patient risks for total cancer estimated using the Dutch prediction model ranged from 1% to 52% for lifetime and from 1% to 31% for 10-year risk. The same was true for lung cancer risk: median 5% lifetime and 2% 10-year risks, with individual patient risks ranging from 0% to 37% and from 0% to 24%. Likewise for colorectal cancer: a median 4% lifetime risk, ranging from 0% to 6%, and a median 2% risk over the next 10 years, with personalized risks ranging as high as 13% for lifetime risk and 6% for 10-year colorectal cancer risk.

The risk calculator performed “reasonably well,” according to Dr. van ’t Klooster. She pointed to a C-statistic of 0.74 for lung cancer, 0.63 for total cancer, and 0.64 for colorectal cancer. It’s possible the risk predictor’s performance could be further enhanced by incorporation of several potentially important factors that weren’t available in the UCC-SMART derivation cohort, including race, education level, and socioeconomic status, she added.

Potential applications for the risk calculator in clinical practice require further study, but include using the lifetime risk prediction for cancer as a motivational aid in conversations with patients about the importance of behavioral change in support of a healthier lifestyle. Also, a high predicted 10-year lung cancer risk could potentially be used to lower the threshold for a screening chest CT, resulting in earlier detection and treatment of lung cancer, Dr. van ’t Klooster noted.

In an interview, Bonnie Ky, MD, MSCE, praised the risk prediction study as rigorously executed, topical, and clinically significant.

“This paper signifies the overlap between our two disciplines of cancer and cardiovascular disease in terms of the risks that we face together when we care for this patient population,” said Dr. Ky, a cardiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

“Many of us in medicine believe in the importance of risk prediction: identifying who’s at high risk and doing everything we can to mitigate that risk. This paper speaks to that and moves us one step closer to accomplishing that aim,” added Dr. Ky, who is editor in chief of JACC: CardioOncology, which published the study simultaneously with Dr. van ’t Klooster’s presentation at ESC 2020. The paper provides direct access to the risk calculator.

Dr. van ’t Klooster reported having no financial conflicts regarding her study. UCC-SMART is funded by a Utrecht University grant, and CANTOS was funded by Novartis.

[email protected]

SOURCE: van ’t Klooster CC. ESC 2020 and JACC CardioOncol. 2020 Aug. doi: 10.1016/j.jaccao.2020.07.001.

The earlier the anti-inflammatory drug colchicine is initiated after a myocardial infarction (MI) the greater the benefit, a new COLCOT analysis suggests.

The parent trial was conducted in patients with a recent MI because of the intense inflammation present at that time, and added colchicine 0.5 mg daily to standard care within 30 days following MI.

As previously reported, colchicine significantly reduced the risk of the primary end point – a composite of cardiovascular (CV) death, resuscitated cardiac arrest, MI, stroke, or urgent hospitalization for angina requiring revascularization – by 23% compared with placebo.

This new analysis shows the risk was reduced by 48% in patients receiving colchicine within 3 days of an MI (4.3% vs. 8.3%; adjusted hazard ratio, 0.52; 95% confidence interval, 0.32-0.84, P = .007).

Risk of a secondary efficacy end point – CV death, resuscitated cardiac arrest, MI, or stroke – was reduced by 45% over an average follow up of 22.7 months (3.3% vs 6.1%; adjusted HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.32-0.95, P = .031).

“We believe that our results support an early, in-hospital initiation of adjunctive colchicine for post-MI prevention,” Nadia Bouabdallaoui, MD, Montreal Heart Institute, Quebec, Canada, said during an online session devoted to colchicine at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2020.

Session moderator Massimo Imazio, MD, professor of cardiology at the University of Turin, Italy, said the improved outcomes suggest that earlier treatment is better – a finding that parallels his own experience using colchicine in patients with pericarditis.

“This substudy is very important because this is probably also the year in cardiovascular applications [that] early use of the drug could improve outcomes,” he said.

Positive data have been accumulating for colchicine from COLCOT, LoDoCo, and, most recently, the LoDoCo2 trial, even as another anti-inflammatory drug, methotrexate, flamed out as secondary prevention in the CIRT trial.

The new COLCOT substudy included 4,661 of the 4,745 original patients and examined treatment initiation using three strata: within 0-3 days (n = 1,193), 4-7 days (n = 720), and 8-30 days (n = 2,748). Patients who received treatment within 3 days were slightly younger, more likely to be smokers, and to have a shorter time from MI to randomization (2.1 days vs 5.1 days vs. 20.8 days, respectively).

In the subset receiving treatment within 3 days, those assigned to colchicine had the same number of cardiac deaths as those given placebo (2 vs. 2) but fewer resuscitated cardiac arrests (1 vs. 3), MIs (17 vs. 29), strokes (1 vs. 5), and urgent hospitalizations for angina requiring revascularization (6 vs. 17).

“A larger trial might have allowed for a better assessment of individual endpoints and subgroups,” observed Bouabdallaoui.

Although there is growing support for colchicine, experts caution that the drug many not be for everyone. In COLCOT, 1 in 10 patients were unable to tolerate the drug, largely because of gastrointestinal (GI) issues.
 

Pharmacogenomics substudy

A second COLCOT substudy aimed to identify genetic markers predictive of colchicine response and to gain insights into the mechanisms behind this response. It included 767 patients treated with colchicine and another 755 treated with placebo – or about one-third the patients in the original trial.

A genome-wide association study did not find a significant association for the primary CV endpoint, although a prespecified subgroup analysis in men identified an interesting region on chromosome 9 (variant: rs10811106), which just missed reaching genomewide significance, said Marie-Pierre Dubé, PhD, director of the Université de Montréal Beaulieu-Saucier Pharmacogenomics Centre at the Montreal Heart Institute.

In addition, the genomewide analysis found two significant regions for GI events: one on chromosome 6 (variant: rs6916345) and one on chromosome 10 (variant: rs74795203).

For each of the identified regions, the researchers then tested the effect of the allele in the placebo group and the interaction between the genetic variant and treatment with colchicine. For the chromosome 9 region in males, there was no effect in the placebo group and a significant interaction in the colchicine group.

For the significant GI event findings, there was a small effect for the chromosome 6 region in the placebo group and a very significant interaction with colchicine, Dubé said. Similarly, there was no effect for the chromosome 10 region in the placebo group and a significant interaction with colchicine.

Additional analyses in stratified patient populations showed that males with the protective allele (CC) for the chromosome 9 region represented 83% of the population. The primary CV endpoint occurred in 3.2% of these men treated with colchicine and 6.3% treated with placebo (HR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.24 - 0.86).

For the gastrointestinal events, 25% of patients carried the risk allele (AA) for the chromosome 6 region and 36.9% of these had GI events when treated with colchicine versus 18.6% when treated with placebo (HR, 2.42; 95% CI, 1.57-3.72).

Similarly, 13% of individuals carried one or two copies of the risk allele (AG+GG) for the chromosome 10 region and the risk of GI events in these was nearly four times higher with colchicine (47.1% vs. 18.9%; HR, 3.98; 95% CI 2.24-7.07).

Functional genomic analyses of the identified regions were also performed and showed that the chromosome 9 locus overlaps with the SAXO1 gene, a stabilizer of axonemal microtubules 1.

“The leading variant at this locus (rs10811106 C allele) correlated with the expression of the HAUS6 gene, which is involved in microtubule generation from existing microtubules, and may interact with the effect of colchicine, which is known to inhibit microtubule formation,” observed Dubé. 

Also, the chromosome 6 locus associated with gastrointestinal events was colocalizing with the Crohn’s disease locus, adding further support for this region.

“The results support potential personalized approaches to inflammation reduction for cardiovascular prevention,” Dubé said.

This is a post hoc subgroup analysis, however, and replication is necessary, ideally in prospective randomized trials, she noted.

The substudy is important because it provides further insights into the link between colchicine and microtubule polymerization, affecting the activation of the inflammasome, session moderator Imazio said.

“Second, it is important because pharmacogenomics can help us to better understand the optimal responder to colchicine and colchicine resistance,” he said. “So it can be useful for personalized medicine, leading to the proper use of the drug for the proper patient.”

COLCOT was supported by the government of Quebec, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and philanthropic foundations. Bouabdallaoui has disclosed no relevant financial relationships. Dubé reported grants from the government of Quebec; personal fees from DalCor and GlaxoSmithKline; research support from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Servier, Sanofi; and minor equity interest in DalCor. Dubé is also coauthor of patents on pharmacogenomics-guided CETP inhibition, and pharmacogenomics markers of response to colchicine.  

This article first appeared on Medscape.com.

The earlier the anti-inflammatory drug colchicine is initiated after a myocardial infarction (MI) the greater the benefit, a new COLCOT analysis suggests.

The parent trial was conducted in patients with a recent MI because of the intense inflammation present at that time, and added colchicine 0.5 mg daily to standard care within 30 days following MI.

As previously reported, colchicine significantly reduced the risk of the primary end point – a composite of cardiovascular (CV) death, resuscitated cardiac arrest, MI, stroke, or urgent hospitalization for angina requiring revascularization – by 23% compared with placebo.

This new analysis shows the risk was reduced by 48% in patients receiving colchicine within 3 days of an MI (4.3% vs. 8.3%; adjusted hazard ratio, 0.52; 95% confidence interval, 0.32-0.84, P = .007).

Risk of a secondary efficacy end point – CV death, resuscitated cardiac arrest, MI, or stroke – was reduced by 45% over an average follow up of 22.7 months (3.3% vs 6.1%; adjusted HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.32-0.95, P = .031).

“We believe that our results support an early, in-hospital initiation of adjunctive colchicine for post-MI prevention,” Nadia Bouabdallaoui, MD, Montreal Heart Institute, Quebec, Canada, said during an online session devoted to colchicine at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2020.

Session moderator Massimo Imazio, MD, professor of cardiology at the University of Turin, Italy, said the improved outcomes suggest that earlier treatment is better – a finding that parallels his own experience using colchicine in patients with pericarditis.

“This substudy is very important because this is probably also the year in cardiovascular applications [that] early use of the drug could improve outcomes,” he said.

Positive data have been accumulating for colchicine from COLCOT, LoDoCo, and, most recently, the LoDoCo2 trial, even as another anti-inflammatory drug, methotrexate, flamed out as secondary prevention in the CIRT trial.

The new COLCOT substudy included 4,661 of the 4,745 original patients and examined treatment initiation using three strata: within 0-3 days (n = 1,193), 4-7 days (n = 720), and 8-30 days (n = 2,748). Patients who received treatment within 3 days were slightly younger, more likely to be smokers, and to have a shorter time from MI to randomization (2.1 days vs 5.1 days vs. 20.8 days, respectively).

In the subset receiving treatment within 3 days, those assigned to colchicine had the same number of cardiac deaths as those given placebo (2 vs. 2) but fewer resuscitated cardiac arrests (1 vs. 3), MIs (17 vs. 29), strokes (1 vs. 5), and urgent hospitalizations for angina requiring revascularization (6 vs. 17).

“A larger trial might have allowed for a better assessment of individual endpoints and subgroups,” observed Bouabdallaoui.

Although there is growing support for colchicine, experts caution that the drug many not be for everyone. In COLCOT, 1 in 10 patients were unable to tolerate the drug, largely because of gastrointestinal (GI) issues.
 

Pharmacogenomics substudy

A second COLCOT substudy aimed to identify genetic markers predictive of colchicine response and to gain insights into the mechanisms behind this response. It included 767 patients treated with colchicine and another 755 treated with placebo – or about one-third the patients in the original trial.

A genome-wide association study did not find a significant association for the primary CV endpoint, although a prespecified subgroup analysis in men identified an interesting region on chromosome 9 (variant: rs10811106), which just missed reaching genomewide significance, said Marie-Pierre Dubé, PhD, director of the Université de Montréal Beaulieu-Saucier Pharmacogenomics Centre at the Montreal Heart Institute.

In addition, the genomewide analysis found two significant regions for GI events: one on chromosome 6 (variant: rs6916345) and one on chromosome 10 (variant: rs74795203).

For each of the identified regions, the researchers then tested the effect of the allele in the placebo group and the interaction between the genetic variant and treatment with colchicine. For the chromosome 9 region in males, there was no effect in the placebo group and a significant interaction in the colchicine group.

For the significant GI event findings, there was a small effect for the chromosome 6 region in the placebo group and a very significant interaction with colchicine, Dubé said. Similarly, there was no effect for the chromosome 10 region in the placebo group and a significant interaction with colchicine.

Additional analyses in stratified patient populations showed that males with the protective allele (CC) for the chromosome 9 region represented 83% of the population. The primary CV endpoint occurred in 3.2% of these men treated with colchicine and 6.3% treated with placebo (HR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.24 - 0.86).

For the gastrointestinal events, 25% of patients carried the risk allele (AA) for the chromosome 6 region and 36.9% of these had GI events when treated with colchicine versus 18.6% when treated with placebo (HR, 2.42; 95% CI, 1.57-3.72).

Similarly, 13% of individuals carried one or two copies of the risk allele (AG+GG) for the chromosome 10 region and the risk of GI events in these was nearly four times higher with colchicine (47.1% vs. 18.9%; HR, 3.98; 95% CI 2.24-7.07).

Functional genomic analyses of the identified regions were also performed and showed that the chromosome 9 locus overlaps with the SAXO1 gene, a stabilizer of axonemal microtubules 1.

“The leading variant at this locus (rs10811106 C allele) correlated with the expression of the HAUS6 gene, which is involved in microtubule generation from existing microtubules, and may interact with the effect of colchicine, which is known to inhibit microtubule formation,” observed Dubé. 

Also, the chromosome 6 locus associated with gastrointestinal events was colocalizing with the Crohn’s disease locus, adding further support for this region.

“The results support potential personalized approaches to inflammation reduction for cardiovascular prevention,” Dubé said.

This is a post hoc subgroup analysis, however, and replication is necessary, ideally in prospective randomized trials, she noted.

The substudy is important because it provides further insights into the link between colchicine and microtubule polymerization, affecting the activation of the inflammasome, session moderator Imazio said.

“Second, it is important because pharmacogenomics can help us to better understand the optimal responder to colchicine and colchicine resistance,” he said. “So it can be useful for personalized medicine, leading to the proper use of the drug for the proper patient.”

COLCOT was supported by the government of Quebec, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and philanthropic foundations. Bouabdallaoui has disclosed no relevant financial relationships. Dubé reported grants from the government of Quebec; personal fees from DalCor and GlaxoSmithKline; research support from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Servier, Sanofi; and minor equity interest in DalCor. Dubé is also coauthor of patents on pharmacogenomics-guided CETP inhibition, and pharmacogenomics markers of response to colchicine.  

This article first appeared on Medscape.com.

The earlier the anti-inflammatory drug colchicine is initiated after a myocardial infarction (MI) the greater the benefit, a new COLCOT analysis suggests.

The parent trial was conducted in patients with a recent MI because of the intense inflammation present at that time, and added colchicine 0.5 mg daily to standard care within 30 days following MI.

As previously reported, colchicine significantly reduced the risk of the primary end point – a composite of cardiovascular (CV) death, resuscitated cardiac arrest, MI, stroke, or urgent hospitalization for angina requiring revascularization – by 23% compared with placebo.

This new analysis shows the risk was reduced by 48% in patients receiving colchicine within 3 days of an MI (4.3% vs. 8.3%; adjusted hazard ratio, 0.52; 95% confidence interval, 0.32-0.84, P = .007).

Risk of a secondary efficacy end point – CV death, resuscitated cardiac arrest, MI, or stroke – was reduced by 45% over an average follow up of 22.7 months (3.3% vs 6.1%; adjusted HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.32-0.95, P = .031).

“We believe that our results support an early, in-hospital initiation of adjunctive colchicine for post-MI prevention,” Nadia Bouabdallaoui, MD, Montreal Heart Institute, Quebec, Canada, said during an online session devoted to colchicine at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2020.

Session moderator Massimo Imazio, MD, professor of cardiology at the University of Turin, Italy, said the improved outcomes suggest that earlier treatment is better – a finding that parallels his own experience using colchicine in patients with pericarditis.

“This substudy is very important because this is probably also the year in cardiovascular applications [that] early use of the drug could improve outcomes,” he said.

Positive data have been accumulating for colchicine from COLCOT, LoDoCo, and, most recently, the LoDoCo2 trial, even as another anti-inflammatory drug, methotrexate, flamed out as secondary prevention in the CIRT trial.

The new COLCOT substudy included 4,661 of the 4,745 original patients and examined treatment initiation using three strata: within 0-3 days (n = 1,193), 4-7 days (n = 720), and 8-30 days (n = 2,748). Patients who received treatment within 3 days were slightly younger, more likely to be smokers, and to have a shorter time from MI to randomization (2.1 days vs 5.1 days vs. 20.8 days, respectively).

In the subset receiving treatment within 3 days, those assigned to colchicine had the same number of cardiac deaths as those given placebo (2 vs. 2) but fewer resuscitated cardiac arrests (1 vs. 3), MIs (17 vs. 29), strokes (1 vs. 5), and urgent hospitalizations for angina requiring revascularization (6 vs. 17).

“A larger trial might have allowed for a better assessment of individual endpoints and subgroups,” observed Bouabdallaoui.

Although there is growing support for colchicine, experts caution that the drug many not be for everyone. In COLCOT, 1 in 10 patients were unable to tolerate the drug, largely because of gastrointestinal (GI) issues.
 

Pharmacogenomics substudy

A second COLCOT substudy aimed to identify genetic markers predictive of colchicine response and to gain insights into the mechanisms behind this response. It included 767 patients treated with colchicine and another 755 treated with placebo – or about one-third the patients in the original trial.

A genome-wide association study did not find a significant association for the primary CV endpoint, although a prespecified subgroup analysis in men identified an interesting region on chromosome 9 (variant: rs10811106), which just missed reaching genomewide significance, said Marie-Pierre Dubé, PhD, director of the Université de Montréal Beaulieu-Saucier Pharmacogenomics Centre at the Montreal Heart Institute.

In addition, the genomewide analysis found two significant regions for GI events: one on chromosome 6 (variant: rs6916345) and one on chromosome 10 (variant: rs74795203).

For each of the identified regions, the researchers then tested the effect of the allele in the placebo group and the interaction between the genetic variant and treatment with colchicine. For the chromosome 9 region in males, there was no effect in the placebo group and a significant interaction in the colchicine group.

For the significant GI event findings, there was a small effect for the chromosome 6 region in the placebo group and a very significant interaction with colchicine, Dubé said. Similarly, there was no effect for the chromosome 10 region in the placebo group and a significant interaction with colchicine.

Additional analyses in stratified patient populations showed that males with the protective allele (CC) for the chromosome 9 region represented 83% of the population. The primary CV endpoint occurred in 3.2% of these men treated with colchicine and 6.3% treated with placebo (HR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.24 - 0.86).

For the gastrointestinal events, 25% of patients carried the risk allele (AA) for the chromosome 6 region and 36.9% of these had GI events when treated with colchicine versus 18.6% when treated with placebo (HR, 2.42; 95% CI, 1.57-3.72).

Similarly, 13% of individuals carried one or two copies of the risk allele (AG+GG) for the chromosome 10 region and the risk of GI events in these was nearly four times higher with colchicine (47.1% vs. 18.9%; HR, 3.98; 95% CI 2.24-7.07).

Functional genomic analyses of the identified regions were also performed and showed that the chromosome 9 locus overlaps with the SAXO1 gene, a stabilizer of axonemal microtubules 1.

“The leading variant at this locus (rs10811106 C allele) correlated with the expression of the HAUS6 gene, which is involved in microtubule generation from existing microtubules, and may interact with the effect of colchicine, which is known to inhibit microtubule formation,” observed Dubé. 

Also, the chromosome 6 locus associated with gastrointestinal events was colocalizing with the Crohn’s disease locus, adding further support for this region.

“The results support potential personalized approaches to inflammation reduction for cardiovascular prevention,” Dubé said.

This is a post hoc subgroup analysis, however, and replication is necessary, ideally in prospective randomized trials, she noted.

The substudy is important because it provides further insights into the link between colchicine and microtubule polymerization, affecting the activation of the inflammasome, session moderator Imazio said.

“Second, it is important because pharmacogenomics can help us to better understand the optimal responder to colchicine and colchicine resistance,” he said. “So it can be useful for personalized medicine, leading to the proper use of the drug for the proper patient.”

COLCOT was supported by the government of Quebec, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and philanthropic foundations. Bouabdallaoui has disclosed no relevant financial relationships. Dubé reported grants from the government of Quebec; personal fees from DalCor and GlaxoSmithKline; research support from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Servier, Sanofi; and minor equity interest in DalCor. Dubé is also coauthor of patents on pharmacogenomics-guided CETP inhibition, and pharmacogenomics markers of response to colchicine.  

This article first appeared on Medscape.com.

The landmark ISCHEMIA trial rattled the cardiology world with its message that clinical outcomes weren’t significantly better with a routine initial invasive strategy than with medical therapy alone in patients with stable coronary artery disease and moderate or severe myocardial ischemia on noninvasive testing. But a new prespecified subanalysis from the randomized trial points to a subgroup that might actually benefit from immediate revascularization.

European Society of Cardiology

ISCHEMIA participants in the sweet spot for an initial invasive strategy were the ones with a baseline history of mild to moderate heart failure symptoms and a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of 35%-45%, Renato Lopes, MD, PhD, reported at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

“An invasive approach may be beneficial in this subgroup of high-risk patients with moderate to severe ischemia and a history of heart failure and left ventricular dysfunction,” declared Dr. Lopes, professor of medicine at Duke University, Durham, N.C.

He was quick to add, however, that this finding from ISCHEMIA should be considered hypothesis generating in light of the small sample size in the subgroup analysis.

The ISCHEMIA trial randomized 5,179 patients with stable CAD and at least moderate myocardial ischemia on noninvasive testing to a routine invasive or conservative management strategy. At 4 years of follow-up there was no significant between-group difference in cardiovascular outcomes (N Engl J Med. 2020 Apr 9;382[15]:1395-407).

Patients with a baseline LVEF below 35% weren’t eligible for enrollment in ISCHEMIA. That’s because the prior Surgical Treatment for Ischemic Heart Failure Extension Study (STICHES) showed patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy and an LVEF below 35% had a significantly lower cardiovascular death rate with surgical revascularization plus medical therapy than optimal medical therapy alone at 10 years of follow-up (N Engl J Med. 2016 Apr 21;374[16]:1511-20).

But what about the impact of immediate revascularization as compared with medical management alone in patients with milder impairment of LVEF in the 35%-45% range and/or a history of symptomatic heart failure? Theoretically, the improved blood flow to ischemic myocardium obtained via revascularization in such patients might activate hibernating myocardium and reduce ventricular dysfunction, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular events. The ISCHEMIA trial provided a unique opportunity to prospectively examine this question in 398 affected study participants, Dr. Lopes explained.

This 398-patient subgroup with a baseline history of heart failure and/or left ventricular dysfunction (HF/LVD) was at higher risk than patients without those features. Indeed, the primary outcome in ISCHEMIA – a composite of cardiovascular death, nonfatal MI, or hospitalization for unstable angina, heart failure, or resuscitated cardiac arrest – occurred in 22.7% of the HF/LVD group at 4 years of follow-up, compared with 13.8% of the much larger group without HF/LVD. The HF/LVD group also had significantly higher rates of the secondary composite endpoints of cardiovascular death or MI (19.7% vs. 12.3%) and all-cause mortality or heart failure (15% vs. 6.9%).

The provocative central finding in this new subanalysis was that patients in the HF/LVD subgroup fared significantly better in terms of cardiovascular events if randomized to the initial invasive approach. Indeed, their 4-year rate of the primary outcome was 17.2%, compared with 29.3% with an initial conservative approach. The various secondary outcomes followed suit. In contrast, the primary outcome occurred in 13% of patients without HF/LVD who were randomized to the invasive strategy, not significantly different from the 14.6% rate with conservative management.

Drilling deeper into the data, Dr. Lopes and coinvestigators found that the enhanced event-free survival benefit of an initial invasive strategy was restricted to the 28 patients having both a baseline history of symptomatic heart failure and an LVEF of 35%-45%. There was no significant difference in outcomes with an invasive versus conservative strategy in the 177 patients with a history of heart failure whose LVEF was greater than 50% – that is, patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction – nor in the 193 participants with an LVEF of 35%-45% but no history of symptomatic heart failure.

In an interview, Mark H. Drazner, MD, commented, “this is an interesting hypothesis, for sure, that warrants further study to confirm whether it’s valid. And if it is valid, there could be real implications. If this is true, I think there could be a decent number of patients out there that this would have implications for.

“The ISCHEMIA trial was a heroic effort. While there are certainly logistical hurdles involved in anybody doing an ISCHEMIA 2 trial based on this small subgroup analysis, other people could start looking at retrospective datasets and see if they can confirm these findings to build momentum to study this further,” said Dr. Drazner, professor of medicine and chief of clinical cardiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, as well as an associate editor at Circulation.

Dr. Lopes reported receiving research grants from Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Medtronic, Pfizer, and Sanofi-Aventis as well as serving as a consultant to a handful of pharmaceutical companies, none relevant to his presentation.

Simultaneous with his presentation at ESC Congress 2020, Dr. Lopes’ study was published online in Circulation.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Lopes R et al. Circulation. 2020 Aug 29. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.050304.

The landmark ISCHEMIA trial rattled the cardiology world with its message that clinical outcomes weren’t significantly better with a routine initial invasive strategy than with medical therapy alone in patients with stable coronary artery disease and moderate or severe myocardial ischemia on noninvasive testing. But a new prespecified subanalysis from the randomized trial points to a subgroup that might actually benefit from immediate revascularization.

European Society of Cardiology

ISCHEMIA participants in the sweet spot for an initial invasive strategy were the ones with a baseline history of mild to moderate heart failure symptoms and a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of 35%-45%, Renato Lopes, MD, PhD, reported at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

“An invasive approach may be beneficial in this subgroup of high-risk patients with moderate to severe ischemia and a history of heart failure and left ventricular dysfunction,” declared Dr. Lopes, professor of medicine at Duke University, Durham, N.C.

He was quick to add, however, that this finding from ISCHEMIA should be considered hypothesis generating in light of the small sample size in the subgroup analysis.

The ISCHEMIA trial randomized 5,179 patients with stable CAD and at least moderate myocardial ischemia on noninvasive testing to a routine invasive or conservative management strategy. At 4 years of follow-up there was no significant between-group difference in cardiovascular outcomes (N Engl J Med. 2020 Apr 9;382[15]:1395-407).

Patients with a baseline LVEF below 35% weren’t eligible for enrollment in ISCHEMIA. That’s because the prior Surgical Treatment for Ischemic Heart Failure Extension Study (STICHES) showed patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy and an LVEF below 35% had a significantly lower cardiovascular death rate with surgical revascularization plus medical therapy than optimal medical therapy alone at 10 years of follow-up (N Engl J Med. 2016 Apr 21;374[16]:1511-20).

But what about the impact of immediate revascularization as compared with medical management alone in patients with milder impairment of LVEF in the 35%-45% range and/or a history of symptomatic heart failure? Theoretically, the improved blood flow to ischemic myocardium obtained via revascularization in such patients might activate hibernating myocardium and reduce ventricular dysfunction, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular events. The ISCHEMIA trial provided a unique opportunity to prospectively examine this question in 398 affected study participants, Dr. Lopes explained.

This 398-patient subgroup with a baseline history of heart failure and/or left ventricular dysfunction (HF/LVD) was at higher risk than patients without those features. Indeed, the primary outcome in ISCHEMIA – a composite of cardiovascular death, nonfatal MI, or hospitalization for unstable angina, heart failure, or resuscitated cardiac arrest – occurred in 22.7% of the HF/LVD group at 4 years of follow-up, compared with 13.8% of the much larger group without HF/LVD. The HF/LVD group also had significantly higher rates of the secondary composite endpoints of cardiovascular death or MI (19.7% vs. 12.3%) and all-cause mortality or heart failure (15% vs. 6.9%).

The provocative central finding in this new subanalysis was that patients in the HF/LVD subgroup fared significantly better in terms of cardiovascular events if randomized to the initial invasive approach. Indeed, their 4-year rate of the primary outcome was 17.2%, compared with 29.3% with an initial conservative approach. The various secondary outcomes followed suit. In contrast, the primary outcome occurred in 13% of patients without HF/LVD who were randomized to the invasive strategy, not significantly different from the 14.6% rate with conservative management.

Drilling deeper into the data, Dr. Lopes and coinvestigators found that the enhanced event-free survival benefit of an initial invasive strategy was restricted to the 28 patients having both a baseline history of symptomatic heart failure and an LVEF of 35%-45%. There was no significant difference in outcomes with an invasive versus conservative strategy in the 177 patients with a history of heart failure whose LVEF was greater than 50% – that is, patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction – nor in the 193 participants with an LVEF of 35%-45% but no history of symptomatic heart failure.

In an interview, Mark H. Drazner, MD, commented, “this is an interesting hypothesis, for sure, that warrants further study to confirm whether it’s valid. And if it is valid, there could be real implications. If this is true, I think there could be a decent number of patients out there that this would have implications for.

“The ISCHEMIA trial was a heroic effort. While there are certainly logistical hurdles involved in anybody doing an ISCHEMIA 2 trial based on this small subgroup analysis, other people could start looking at retrospective datasets and see if they can confirm these findings to build momentum to study this further,” said Dr. Drazner, professor of medicine and chief of clinical cardiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, as well as an associate editor at Circulation.

Dr. Lopes reported receiving research grants from Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Medtronic, Pfizer, and Sanofi-Aventis as well as serving as a consultant to a handful of pharmaceutical companies, none relevant to his presentation.

Simultaneous with his presentation at ESC Congress 2020, Dr. Lopes’ study was published online in Circulation.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Lopes R et al. Circulation. 2020 Aug 29. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.050304.

The landmark ISCHEMIA trial rattled the cardiology world with its message that clinical outcomes weren’t significantly better with a routine initial invasive strategy than with medical therapy alone in patients with stable coronary artery disease and moderate or severe myocardial ischemia on noninvasive testing. But a new prespecified subanalysis from the randomized trial points to a subgroup that might actually benefit from immediate revascularization.

European Society of Cardiology

ISCHEMIA participants in the sweet spot for an initial invasive strategy were the ones with a baseline history of mild to moderate heart failure symptoms and a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of 35%-45%, Renato Lopes, MD, PhD, reported at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

“An invasive approach may be beneficial in this subgroup of high-risk patients with moderate to severe ischemia and a history of heart failure and left ventricular dysfunction,” declared Dr. Lopes, professor of medicine at Duke University, Durham, N.C.

He was quick to add, however, that this finding from ISCHEMIA should be considered hypothesis generating in light of the small sample size in the subgroup analysis.

The ISCHEMIA trial randomized 5,179 patients with stable CAD and at least moderate myocardial ischemia on noninvasive testing to a routine invasive or conservative management strategy. At 4 years of follow-up there was no significant between-group difference in cardiovascular outcomes (N Engl J Med. 2020 Apr 9;382[15]:1395-407).

Patients with a baseline LVEF below 35% weren’t eligible for enrollment in ISCHEMIA. That’s because the prior Surgical Treatment for Ischemic Heart Failure Extension Study (STICHES) showed patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy and an LVEF below 35% had a significantly lower cardiovascular death rate with surgical revascularization plus medical therapy than optimal medical therapy alone at 10 years of follow-up (N Engl J Med. 2016 Apr 21;374[16]:1511-20).

But what about the impact of immediate revascularization as compared with medical management alone in patients with milder impairment of LVEF in the 35%-45% range and/or a history of symptomatic heart failure? Theoretically, the improved blood flow to ischemic myocardium obtained via revascularization in such patients might activate hibernating myocardium and reduce ventricular dysfunction, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular events. The ISCHEMIA trial provided a unique opportunity to prospectively examine this question in 398 affected study participants, Dr. Lopes explained.

This 398-patient subgroup with a baseline history of heart failure and/or left ventricular dysfunction (HF/LVD) was at higher risk than patients without those features. Indeed, the primary outcome in ISCHEMIA – a composite of cardiovascular death, nonfatal MI, or hospitalization for unstable angina, heart failure, or resuscitated cardiac arrest – occurred in 22.7% of the HF/LVD group at 4 years of follow-up, compared with 13.8% of the much larger group without HF/LVD. The HF/LVD group also had significantly higher rates of the secondary composite endpoints of cardiovascular death or MI (19.7% vs. 12.3%) and all-cause mortality or heart failure (15% vs. 6.9%).

The provocative central finding in this new subanalysis was that patients in the HF/LVD subgroup fared significantly better in terms of cardiovascular events if randomized to the initial invasive approach. Indeed, their 4-year rate of the primary outcome was 17.2%, compared with 29.3% with an initial conservative approach. The various secondary outcomes followed suit. In contrast, the primary outcome occurred in 13% of patients without HF/LVD who were randomized to the invasive strategy, not significantly different from the 14.6% rate with conservative management.

Drilling deeper into the data, Dr. Lopes and coinvestigators found that the enhanced event-free survival benefit of an initial invasive strategy was restricted to the 28 patients having both a baseline history of symptomatic heart failure and an LVEF of 35%-45%. There was no significant difference in outcomes with an invasive versus conservative strategy in the 177 patients with a history of heart failure whose LVEF was greater than 50% – that is, patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction – nor in the 193 participants with an LVEF of 35%-45% but no history of symptomatic heart failure.

In an interview, Mark H. Drazner, MD, commented, “this is an interesting hypothesis, for sure, that warrants further study to confirm whether it’s valid. And if it is valid, there could be real implications. If this is true, I think there could be a decent number of patients out there that this would have implications for.

“The ISCHEMIA trial was a heroic effort. While there are certainly logistical hurdles involved in anybody doing an ISCHEMIA 2 trial based on this small subgroup analysis, other people could start looking at retrospective datasets and see if they can confirm these findings to build momentum to study this further,” said Dr. Drazner, professor of medicine and chief of clinical cardiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, as well as an associate editor at Circulation.

Dr. Lopes reported receiving research grants from Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Medtronic, Pfizer, and Sanofi-Aventis as well as serving as a consultant to a handful of pharmaceutical companies, none relevant to his presentation.

Simultaneous with his presentation at ESC Congress 2020, Dr. Lopes’ study was published online in Circulation.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Lopes R et al. Circulation. 2020 Aug 29. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.050304.

Final 18-month results of the EVAPORATE trial suggest icosapent ethyl (Vascepa) provides even greater slowing of coronary plaque progression when added to statins for patients with high triglyceride levels, but not all cardiologists are convinced.

The study was designed to explore a potential mechanism behind the cardiovascular event reduction in REDUCE-IT. Previously reported interim results showed that, after 9 months, the pharmaceutical-grade omega-3 fatty acid formation significantly slowed the progression of several plaque types but not the primary endpoint of change in low-attenuation plaque volume on multidetector CT.

From baseline to 18-month follow-up, however, the primary endpoint was significantly reduced by 17% in the icosapent ethyl group, whereas low-attenuation plaque volumes increased by 109% in the placebo group (P = .0061).

Significant declines were also seen with icosapent ethyl 4 g/day versus the mineral oil placebo for all other plaque types except dense calcium after adjustment for age, sex, diabetes, hypertension, and triglyceride levels at baseline:

• Dense calcium: –1% versus 15% (P = .0531).
• Fibro-fatty: –34% versus 32% (P = .0002).
• Fibrous: –20% versus 1% (P = .0028).
• Noncalcified: –19% versus 9% (P = .0005).
• Total plaque: –9% versus 11% (P = .0019).

The results parallel nicely with recent clinical data from REDUCE-IT REVASC, in which icosapent ethyl 4 g/day provided a very early benefit on first revascularization events that reached statistical significance after only 11 months (hazard ratio, 0.66), principal investigator Matthew Budoff, MD, director of cardiac CT at Harbor–University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center in Torrance, Calif., said during the virtual European Society of Cardiology Congress 2020.

The findings were also published simultaneously in the European Heart Journal and quickly prompted a flurry of comments on social media.

Some were supportive. Christopher Cannon, MD, of Harvard Medical School, Boston; Dan Soffer, MD, a lipidologist at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; and Viet Le, MPAS, PA, a researcher at the Intermountain Heart Institute, Murray, Utah, took to Twitter to praise Dr. Budoff and the final results of the mechanistic study. Dr. Soffer called the study “elegant,” while Dr. Cannon said the results provide “important mechanistic data on plaque character.”

Others were highly critical, including a poll questioning whether the article should be retracted or revised.

Ibrahim H. Tanboga, MD, PhD, a cardiology professor and biostatistician at Hisar Intercontinental Hospital in Istanbul, questioned how the longitudinal change in low-attenuation plaque was possible clinically; his plot of the data showed these lesions getting worse in both arms before getting better in both arms.

A more volatile exchange concerned whether there were differences in the baseline characteristics between the two groups and whether the data might have been unblinded.

“I am sympathetic to the boss of a big laboratory [who] might not know how every step of the process was done and therefore might not be aware of opportunities for accidental bias. This can easily happen in a large and active department,” Darrel Francis, MD, professor of cardiology at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, said in an interview.

An alternative explanation proffered on Twitter was that the interim analysis found no significant differences in baseline measures because it used nonparametric tests, whereas log transformation was applied to the final data. In any event, the tweets prompted a sharp rebuke from Dr. Budoff.

Dr. Francis raised another point of contention on Twitter regarding the degree of plaque progression in the placebo group.

In an interview, Dr. Francis pointed out that the final data represent the percentage change in the logarithm, not the actual percentage change in atheroma. So the increase in total atheroma volume in the placebo arm is not 11% but rather a scaling-up by 100.4 or 2.51, in other words, 151%.

He also offered a “less subtle feature of possible erroneous data,” in that the abstract reported low-attenuation plaque “more than doubles” in 18 months, which he described as a “ghastly supercharged version of Moore’s law for atheroma, instead of microchips.”

So “either it’s a mistake in the measurement or the placebo is harmful, because I can’t see how this is sustainable,” he said. “Why isn’t everyone dead from coronary disease?”

Concerns were raised previously over the possibility that the mineral oil placebo used in both EVAPORATE and REDUCE-IT could be having ill effects, notably, by increasing LDL cholesterol and C-reactive protein levels.

In an interview, Steven Nissen, MD, who is chair of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic and has been among the critics of the mineral oil placebo, also questioned the plaque progression over the 18 months.

“I’ve published more than dozen regression/progression trials, and we have never seen anything like this in a placebo group, ever,” he said. “If this was a clean placebo, why would this happen in a short amount of time?

“I’m concerned this is all about an increase, in the case of REDUCE-IT, in morbidity and mortality in the placebo group, and in the EVAPORATE trial, an increase in plaque in the placebo group,” Dr. Nissen said. “So this raises serious doubts about whether there is any benefit to icosapent ethyl.”

Asked about the 109% increase, Dr. Budoff said in an interview that low-attenuation plaque represents a much smaller quantity of overall plaque volume. “So the percentages might be exaggerated if you look at just percentage change because they;re small volumes.”

He also noted that previous trials that evaluated atherosclerosis progression used intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), whereas EVAPORATE is the first to make the transition to CT angiography-based analysis of plaque progression.

“I would point out that Dr. Nissen has only worked on intravascular ultrasound, which, while it’s parallel in its ability to measure plaque, measures different volumes and measures it in a totally different way,” said Dr. Budoff. “So I don’t think we can directly compare the results of CT angiography to Dr. Nissen’s examples of IVUS.”

During his presentation, Dr. Budoff highlighted their recent data showing a similar rate of plaque progression between the mineral oil placebo in EVAPORATE and a cellulose-based placebo in the Garlic5 study. “So we have high confidence that the benefits seen in this trial with icosapent ethyl represent icosapent ethyl’s beneficial effects on atherosclerosis and not harm of mineral oil,” he said.

Exactly how icosapent ethyl is slowing atherosclerosis, however, is not fully known, Dr. Budoff said in an interview. “It might be inflammation and oxidation; those have both been shown to be better with icosapent ethyl, but I don’t think we fully understand the implications of these results.”

Dr. Budoff dismissed tweets that suggest the data might have been unblinded as unprofessional and said they are requesting that Imperial College have Francis cease and desist.

“He doesn’t have the actual data, so there is no way to do statistics without the dataset. The whole thing is inappropriate,” Dr. Budoff said.

Amarin Pharma provided funding and drug for the trial. Dr. Budoff has received research funding from and has served as a speaker for Amarin Pharma, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer and has served as a speaker for Bristol-Myers Squibb. Dr. Francis has disclosed no relevant financial relationships..

A version of this article originally appeared on Medscape.com.

Final 18-month results of the EVAPORATE trial suggest icosapent ethyl (Vascepa) provides even greater slowing of coronary plaque progression when added to statins for patients with high triglyceride levels, but not all cardiologists are convinced.

The study was designed to explore a potential mechanism behind the cardiovascular event reduction in REDUCE-IT. Previously reported interim results showed that, after 9 months, the pharmaceutical-grade omega-3 fatty acid formation significantly slowed the progression of several plaque types but not the primary endpoint of change in low-attenuation plaque volume on multidetector CT.

From baseline to 18-month follow-up, however, the primary endpoint was significantly reduced by 17% in the icosapent ethyl group, whereas low-attenuation plaque volumes increased by 109% in the placebo group (P = .0061).

Significant declines were also seen with icosapent ethyl 4 g/day versus the mineral oil placebo for all other plaque types except dense calcium after adjustment for age, sex, diabetes, hypertension, and triglyceride levels at baseline:

• Dense calcium: –1% versus 15% (P = .0531).
• Fibro-fatty: –34% versus 32% (P = .0002).
• Fibrous: –20% versus 1% (P = .0028).
• Noncalcified: –19% versus 9% (P = .0005).
• Total plaque: –9% versus 11% (P = .0019).

The results parallel nicely with recent clinical data from REDUCE-IT REVASC, in which icosapent ethyl 4 g/day provided a very early benefit on first revascularization events that reached statistical significance after only 11 months (hazard ratio, 0.66), principal investigator Matthew Budoff, MD, director of cardiac CT at Harbor–University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center in Torrance, Calif., said during the virtual European Society of Cardiology Congress 2020.

The findings were also published simultaneously in the European Heart Journal and quickly prompted a flurry of comments on social media.

Some were supportive. Christopher Cannon, MD, of Harvard Medical School, Boston; Dan Soffer, MD, a lipidologist at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; and Viet Le, MPAS, PA, a researcher at the Intermountain Heart Institute, Murray, Utah, took to Twitter to praise Dr. Budoff and the final results of the mechanistic study. Dr. Soffer called the study “elegant,” while Dr. Cannon said the results provide “important mechanistic data on plaque character.”

Others were highly critical, including a poll questioning whether the article should be retracted or revised.

Ibrahim H. Tanboga, MD, PhD, a cardiology professor and biostatistician at Hisar Intercontinental Hospital in Istanbul, questioned how the longitudinal change in low-attenuation plaque was possible clinically; his plot of the data showed these lesions getting worse in both arms before getting better in both arms.

A more volatile exchange concerned whether there were differences in the baseline characteristics between the two groups and whether the data might have been unblinded.

“I am sympathetic to the boss of a big laboratory [who] might not know how every step of the process was done and therefore might not be aware of opportunities for accidental bias. This can easily happen in a large and active department,” Darrel Francis, MD, professor of cardiology at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, said in an interview.

An alternative explanation proffered on Twitter was that the interim analysis found no significant differences in baseline measures because it used nonparametric tests, whereas log transformation was applied to the final data. In any event, the tweets prompted a sharp rebuke from Dr. Budoff.

Dr. Francis raised another point of contention on Twitter regarding the degree of plaque progression in the placebo group.

In an interview, Dr. Francis pointed out that the final data represent the percentage change in the logarithm, not the actual percentage change in atheroma. So the increase in total atheroma volume in the placebo arm is not 11% but rather a scaling-up by 100.4 or 2.51, in other words, 151%.

He also offered a “less subtle feature of possible erroneous data,” in that the abstract reported low-attenuation plaque “more than doubles” in 18 months, which he described as a “ghastly supercharged version of Moore’s law for atheroma, instead of microchips.”

So “either it’s a mistake in the measurement or the placebo is harmful, because I can’t see how this is sustainable,” he said. “Why isn’t everyone dead from coronary disease?”

Concerns were raised previously over the possibility that the mineral oil placebo used in both EVAPORATE and REDUCE-IT could be having ill effects, notably, by increasing LDL cholesterol and C-reactive protein levels.

In an interview, Steven Nissen, MD, who is chair of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic and has been among the critics of the mineral oil placebo, also questioned the plaque progression over the 18 months.

“I’ve published more than dozen regression/progression trials, and we have never seen anything like this in a placebo group, ever,” he said. “If this was a clean placebo, why would this happen in a short amount of time?

“I’m concerned this is all about an increase, in the case of REDUCE-IT, in morbidity and mortality in the placebo group, and in the EVAPORATE trial, an increase in plaque in the placebo group,” Dr. Nissen said. “So this raises serious doubts about whether there is any benefit to icosapent ethyl.”

Asked about the 109% increase, Dr. Budoff said in an interview that low-attenuation plaque represents a much smaller quantity of overall plaque volume. “So the percentages might be exaggerated if you look at just percentage change because they;re small volumes.”

He also noted that previous trials that evaluated atherosclerosis progression used intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), whereas EVAPORATE is the first to make the transition to CT angiography-based analysis of plaque progression.

“I would point out that Dr. Nissen has only worked on intravascular ultrasound, which, while it’s parallel in its ability to measure plaque, measures different volumes and measures it in a totally different way,” said Dr. Budoff. “So I don’t think we can directly compare the results of CT angiography to Dr. Nissen’s examples of IVUS.”

During his presentation, Dr. Budoff highlighted their recent data showing a similar rate of plaque progression between the mineral oil placebo in EVAPORATE and a cellulose-based placebo in the Garlic5 study. “So we have high confidence that the benefits seen in this trial with icosapent ethyl represent icosapent ethyl’s beneficial effects on atherosclerosis and not harm of mineral oil,” he said.

Exactly how icosapent ethyl is slowing atherosclerosis, however, is not fully known, Dr. Budoff said in an interview. “It might be inflammation and oxidation; those have both been shown to be better with icosapent ethyl, but I don’t think we fully understand the implications of these results.”

Dr. Budoff dismissed tweets that suggest the data might have been unblinded as unprofessional and said they are requesting that Imperial College have Francis cease and desist.

“He doesn’t have the actual data, so there is no way to do statistics without the dataset. The whole thing is inappropriate,” Dr. Budoff said.

Amarin Pharma provided funding and drug for the trial. Dr. Budoff has received research funding from and has served as a speaker for Amarin Pharma, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer and has served as a speaker for Bristol-Myers Squibb. Dr. Francis has disclosed no relevant financial relationships..

A version of this article originally appeared on Medscape.com.

Final 18-month results of the EVAPORATE trial suggest icosapent ethyl (Vascepa) provides even greater slowing of coronary plaque progression when added to statins for patients with high triglyceride levels, but not all cardiologists are convinced.

The study was designed to explore a potential mechanism behind the cardiovascular event reduction in REDUCE-IT. Previously reported interim results showed that, after 9 months, the pharmaceutical-grade omega-3 fatty acid formation significantly slowed the progression of several plaque types but not the primary endpoint of change in low-attenuation plaque volume on multidetector CT.

From baseline to 18-month follow-up, however, the primary endpoint was significantly reduced by 17% in the icosapent ethyl group, whereas low-attenuation plaque volumes increased by 109% in the placebo group (P = .0061).

Significant declines were also seen with icosapent ethyl 4 g/day versus the mineral oil placebo for all other plaque types except dense calcium after adjustment for age, sex, diabetes, hypertension, and triglyceride levels at baseline:

• Dense calcium: –1% versus 15% (P = .0531).
• Fibro-fatty: –34% versus 32% (P = .0002).
• Fibrous: –20% versus 1% (P = .0028).
• Noncalcified: –19% versus 9% (P = .0005).
• Total plaque: –9% versus 11% (P = .0019).

The results parallel nicely with recent clinical data from REDUCE-IT REVASC, in which icosapent ethyl 4 g/day provided a very early benefit on first revascularization events that reached statistical significance after only 11 months (hazard ratio, 0.66), principal investigator Matthew Budoff, MD, director of cardiac CT at Harbor–University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center in Torrance, Calif., said during the virtual European Society of Cardiology Congress 2020.

The findings were also published simultaneously in the European Heart Journal and quickly prompted a flurry of comments on social media.

Some were supportive. Christopher Cannon, MD, of Harvard Medical School, Boston; Dan Soffer, MD, a lipidologist at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; and Viet Le, MPAS, PA, a researcher at the Intermountain Heart Institute, Murray, Utah, took to Twitter to praise Dr. Budoff and the final results of the mechanistic study. Dr. Soffer called the study “elegant,” while Dr. Cannon said the results provide “important mechanistic data on plaque character.”

Others were highly critical, including a poll questioning whether the article should be retracted or revised.

Ibrahim H. Tanboga, MD, PhD, a cardiology professor and biostatistician at Hisar Intercontinental Hospital in Istanbul, questioned how the longitudinal change in low-attenuation plaque was possible clinically; his plot of the data showed these lesions getting worse in both arms before getting better in both arms.

A more volatile exchange concerned whether there were differences in the baseline characteristics between the two groups and whether the data might have been unblinded.

“I am sympathetic to the boss of a big laboratory [who] might not know how every step of the process was done and therefore might not be aware of opportunities for accidental bias. This can easily happen in a large and active department,” Darrel Francis, MD, professor of cardiology at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, said in an interview.

An alternative explanation proffered on Twitter was that the interim analysis found no significant differences in baseline measures because it used nonparametric tests, whereas log transformation was applied to the final data. In any event, the tweets prompted a sharp rebuke from Dr. Budoff.

Dr. Francis raised another point of contention on Twitter regarding the degree of plaque progression in the placebo group.

In an interview, Dr. Francis pointed out that the final data represent the percentage change in the logarithm, not the actual percentage change in atheroma. So the increase in total atheroma volume in the placebo arm is not 11% but rather a scaling-up by 100.4 or 2.51, in other words, 151%.

He also offered a “less subtle feature of possible erroneous data,” in that the abstract reported low-attenuation plaque “more than doubles” in 18 months, which he described as a “ghastly supercharged version of Moore’s law for atheroma, instead of microchips.”

So “either it’s a mistake in the measurement or the placebo is harmful, because I can’t see how this is sustainable,” he said. “Why isn’t everyone dead from coronary disease?”

Concerns were raised previously over the possibility that the mineral oil placebo used in both EVAPORATE and REDUCE-IT could be having ill effects, notably, by increasing LDL cholesterol and C-reactive protein levels.

In an interview, Steven Nissen, MD, who is chair of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic and has been among the critics of the mineral oil placebo, also questioned the plaque progression over the 18 months.

“I’ve published more than dozen regression/progression trials, and we have never seen anything like this in a placebo group, ever,” he said. “If this was a clean placebo, why would this happen in a short amount of time?

“I’m concerned this is all about an increase, in the case of REDUCE-IT, in morbidity and mortality in the placebo group, and in the EVAPORATE trial, an increase in plaque in the placebo group,” Dr. Nissen said. “So this raises serious doubts about whether there is any benefit to icosapent ethyl.”

Asked about the 109% increase, Dr. Budoff said in an interview that low-attenuation plaque represents a much smaller quantity of overall plaque volume. “So the percentages might be exaggerated if you look at just percentage change because they;re small volumes.”

He also noted that previous trials that evaluated atherosclerosis progression used intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), whereas EVAPORATE is the first to make the transition to CT angiography-based analysis of plaque progression.

“I would point out that Dr. Nissen has only worked on intravascular ultrasound, which, while it’s parallel in its ability to measure plaque, measures different volumes and measures it in a totally different way,” said Dr. Budoff. “So I don’t think we can directly compare the results of CT angiography to Dr. Nissen’s examples of IVUS.”

During his presentation, Dr. Budoff highlighted their recent data showing a similar rate of plaque progression between the mineral oil placebo in EVAPORATE and a cellulose-based placebo in the Garlic5 study. “So we have high confidence that the benefits seen in this trial with icosapent ethyl represent icosapent ethyl’s beneficial effects on atherosclerosis and not harm of mineral oil,” he said.

Exactly how icosapent ethyl is slowing atherosclerosis, however, is not fully known, Dr. Budoff said in an interview. “It might be inflammation and oxidation; those have both been shown to be better with icosapent ethyl, but I don’t think we fully understand the implications of these results.”

Dr. Budoff dismissed tweets that suggest the data might have been unblinded as unprofessional and said they are requesting that Imperial College have Francis cease and desist.

“He doesn’t have the actual data, so there is no way to do statistics without the dataset. The whole thing is inappropriate,” Dr. Budoff said.

Amarin Pharma provided funding and drug for the trial. Dr. Budoff has received research funding from and has served as a speaker for Amarin Pharma, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer and has served as a speaker for Bristol-Myers Squibb. Dr. Francis has disclosed no relevant financial relationships..

A version of this article originally appeared on Medscape.com.

Early administration of evolocumab significantly reduced levels of LDL cholesterol in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention, according to data from an open-label randomized trial of 102 adults in Japan.

Data from previous studies have shown that proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors can reduce LDL cholesterol in acute coronary syndrome patients, wrote Tomoaki Okada, MD, of Kagawa (Japan) Prefectural Central Hospital and colleagues.

In particular, “The EVOPACS trial [J Am Coll Cardiol 2019; 74:2452-62] reported that evolocumab therapy initiated at an early phase of ACS showed [LDL cholesterol] level reduction by 4-8 weeks,” they said.

“However, the 4-week efficacy of PCSK9 inhibitor therapy combined with a statin remains unknown,” they said.

In a study presented at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology and published simultaneously in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, the researchers randomized 52 patients to receive 140 mg of evolocumab subcutaneously within 24 hours of indexed percutaneous coronary intervention and again after 2 weeks. A group of 50 controls received evolocumab after PCI only, but no additional dose after 2 weeks.

The average age of the patients was 65 years, 88% were men, and 26% had a history of statin treatment.

A total of 49 patients in each group were included in the final analysis, with a primary outcome of change in LDL cholesterol levels from baseline to 4 weeks.

Baseline LCL cholesterol levels were 120.8 mg/dL and 124.7 mg/dL in the evolocumab and control groups, respectively. Changes from baseline were significantly greater in the evolocumab group, compared with controls, at –76% and –33%, respectively.

All patients in the evolocumab group and 27% of patients in the control groups achieved LDL cholesterol levels of less than 70 mg/dL at 4 weeks. In addition, 92% and 96% of evolocumab patients achieved LDL cholesterol levels less than 55 mg/dL at 2 weeks and 4 weeks, respectively.

Overall changes in non-HDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and small dense LDL in the evolocumab and control groups were –66.2% and –26.0%; 2.8% and –0.7%; and –67% and –13.8%, respectively. Of these, changes in non-HDL cholesterol and small dense LDL were significantly different between the groups.

In addition, patients in the evolocumab group showed a 3% decrease in lipoprotein, compared with an 82% increase in the control group. This finding suggests the additional benefit of including evolocumab for managing residual risk in patients with high lipoprotein(a) levels” after acute MI, the researchers noted.

Adverse events and serious adverse events were similar between the groups.

‘Early and strong’ LDL cholesterol lowering best for preventing repeat events

“By using the PCSK9 inhibitors, we have the opportunity to lower LDL cholesterol [LDL-C]” both quickly and dramatically, said Heinz Drexel, MD, in an interview.

“This Japanese study shows that very low LDL-C levels can be obtained as fast as within 4 weeks,” he said. “This fits into the concept that risk for future infarctions and strokes is best reduced by early and strong LDL-C lowering,” he explained.

Dr. Drexel said that he was not surprised by the magnitude of the decrease in LDL cholesterol in study findings in light of the EVOPACS study and other research, as well as his own clinical experience.

“The primary message for doctors is that it is now possible to achieve these low levels of LDL-C in a short time,” he said.

“Additional research must prove that this low LDL-C translates to reduction of MIs and strokes, and there is increasing evidence that this will happen,” Dr. Drexel noted.

The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose. Dr. Drexel had no financial conflicts to disclose.

SOURCE: Okada T et al. ESC 2020. JACC Cardiovascular Interventions. 2020 Aug 28. doi: 10.1016/j.jcin.2020.08.026.

Early administration of evolocumab significantly reduced levels of LDL cholesterol in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention, according to data from an open-label randomized trial of 102 adults in Japan.

Data from previous studies have shown that proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors can reduce LDL cholesterol in acute coronary syndrome patients, wrote Tomoaki Okada, MD, of Kagawa (Japan) Prefectural Central Hospital and colleagues.

In particular, “The EVOPACS trial [J Am Coll Cardiol 2019; 74:2452-62] reported that evolocumab therapy initiated at an early phase of ACS showed [LDL cholesterol] level reduction by 4-8 weeks,” they said.

“However, the 4-week efficacy of PCSK9 inhibitor therapy combined with a statin remains unknown,” they said.

In a study presented at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology and published simultaneously in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, the researchers randomized 52 patients to receive 140 mg of evolocumab subcutaneously within 24 hours of indexed percutaneous coronary intervention and again after 2 weeks. A group of 50 controls received evolocumab after PCI only, but no additional dose after 2 weeks.

The average age of the patients was 65 years, 88% were men, and 26% had a history of statin treatment.

A total of 49 patients in each group were included in the final analysis, with a primary outcome of change in LDL cholesterol levels from baseline to 4 weeks.

Baseline LCL cholesterol levels were 120.8 mg/dL and 124.7 mg/dL in the evolocumab and control groups, respectively. Changes from baseline were significantly greater in the evolocumab group, compared with controls, at –76% and –33%, respectively.

All patients in the evolocumab group and 27% of patients in the control groups achieved LDL cholesterol levels of less than 70 mg/dL at 4 weeks. In addition, 92% and 96% of evolocumab patients achieved LDL cholesterol levels less than 55 mg/dL at 2 weeks and 4 weeks, respectively.

Overall changes in non-HDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and small dense LDL in the evolocumab and control groups were –66.2% and –26.0%; 2.8% and –0.7%; and –67% and –13.8%, respectively. Of these, changes in non-HDL cholesterol and small dense LDL were significantly different between the groups.

In addition, patients in the evolocumab group showed a 3% decrease in lipoprotein, compared with an 82% increase in the control group. This finding suggests the additional benefit of including evolocumab for managing residual risk in patients with high lipoprotein(a) levels” after acute MI, the researchers noted.

Adverse events and serious adverse events were similar between the groups.

‘Early and strong’ LDL cholesterol lowering best for preventing repeat events

“By using the PCSK9 inhibitors, we have the opportunity to lower LDL cholesterol [LDL-C]” both quickly and dramatically, said Heinz Drexel, MD, in an interview.

“This Japanese study shows that very low LDL-C levels can be obtained as fast as within 4 weeks,” he said. “This fits into the concept that risk for future infarctions and strokes is best reduced by early and strong LDL-C lowering,” he explained.

Dr. Drexel said that he was not surprised by the magnitude of the decrease in LDL cholesterol in study findings in light of the EVOPACS study and other research, as well as his own clinical experience.

“The primary message for doctors is that it is now possible to achieve these low levels of LDL-C in a short time,” he said.

“Additional research must prove that this low LDL-C translates to reduction of MIs and strokes, and there is increasing evidence that this will happen,” Dr. Drexel noted.

The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose. Dr. Drexel had no financial conflicts to disclose.

SOURCE: Okada T et al. ESC 2020. JACC Cardiovascular Interventions. 2020 Aug 28. doi: 10.1016/j.jcin.2020.08.026.

Early administration of evolocumab significantly reduced levels of LDL cholesterol in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention, according to data from an open-label randomized trial of 102 adults in Japan.

Data from previous studies have shown that proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors can reduce LDL cholesterol in acute coronary syndrome patients, wrote Tomoaki Okada, MD, of Kagawa (Japan) Prefectural Central Hospital and colleagues.

In particular, “The EVOPACS trial [J Am Coll Cardiol 2019; 74:2452-62] reported that evolocumab therapy initiated at an early phase of ACS showed [LDL cholesterol] level reduction by 4-8 weeks,” they said.

“However, the 4-week efficacy of PCSK9 inhibitor therapy combined with a statin remains unknown,” they said.

In a study presented at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology and published simultaneously in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, the researchers randomized 52 patients to receive 140 mg of evolocumab subcutaneously within 24 hours of indexed percutaneous coronary intervention and again after 2 weeks. A group of 50 controls received evolocumab after PCI only, but no additional dose after 2 weeks.

The average age of the patients was 65 years, 88% were men, and 26% had a history of statin treatment.

A total of 49 patients in each group were included in the final analysis, with a primary outcome of change in LDL cholesterol levels from baseline to 4 weeks.

Baseline LCL cholesterol levels were 120.8 mg/dL and 124.7 mg/dL in the evolocumab and control groups, respectively. Changes from baseline were significantly greater in the evolocumab group, compared with controls, at –76% and –33%, respectively.

All patients in the evolocumab group and 27% of patients in the control groups achieved LDL cholesterol levels of less than 70 mg/dL at 4 weeks. In addition, 92% and 96% of evolocumab patients achieved LDL cholesterol levels less than 55 mg/dL at 2 weeks and 4 weeks, respectively.

Overall changes in non-HDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and small dense LDL in the evolocumab and control groups were –66.2% and –26.0%; 2.8% and –0.7%; and –67% and –13.8%, respectively. Of these, changes in non-HDL cholesterol and small dense LDL were significantly different between the groups.

In addition, patients in the evolocumab group showed a 3% decrease in lipoprotein, compared with an 82% increase in the control group. This finding suggests the additional benefit of including evolocumab for managing residual risk in patients with high lipoprotein(a) levels” after acute MI, the researchers noted.

Adverse events and serious adverse events were similar between the groups.

‘Early and strong’ LDL cholesterol lowering best for preventing repeat events

“By using the PCSK9 inhibitors, we have the opportunity to lower LDL cholesterol [LDL-C]” both quickly and dramatically, said Heinz Drexel, MD, in an interview.

“This Japanese study shows that very low LDL-C levels can be obtained as fast as within 4 weeks,” he said. “This fits into the concept that risk for future infarctions and strokes is best reduced by early and strong LDL-C lowering,” he explained.

Dr. Drexel said that he was not surprised by the magnitude of the decrease in LDL cholesterol in study findings in light of the EVOPACS study and other research, as well as his own clinical experience.

“The primary message for doctors is that it is now possible to achieve these low levels of LDL-C in a short time,” he said.

“Additional research must prove that this low LDL-C translates to reduction of MIs and strokes, and there is increasing evidence that this will happen,” Dr. Drexel noted.

The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose. Dr. Drexel had no financial conflicts to disclose.

SOURCE: Okada T et al. ESC 2020. JACC Cardiovascular Interventions. 2020 Aug 28. doi: 10.1016/j.jcin.2020.08.026.

The anti-inflammatory drug colchicine picked up new support as secondary prevention in chronic coronary disease, cutting the risk of cardiovascular events by one-third when added to standard prevention therapies in the double-blind LoDoCo2 study.

Across a median follow up of 29 months in more than 5,000 patients, almost 1 in 10 patients assigned to placebo experienced the primary endpoint of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction (MI), ischemic stroke, or ischemia-driven coronary revascularization. That risk was 31% lower and resulted in 77 fewer events in those assigned to colchicine (hazard ratio, 0.69; 95% confidence interval, 0.57-0.83).

The beneficial effect of low-dose colchicine 0.5 mg daily was seen early on and accrued over time, extending to five of the eight secondary end points, including a near 30% reduction in the composite of major adverse cardiac events, as well as reductions in the individual endpoints of MI and ischemia-driven revascularization.

“It did that with broadly consistent effects across a range of clinical subgroups, which together speak to the strength of the effect of colchicine on cardiovascular outcomes in the sort of patients we routinely see in our clinics,” primary investigator Mark Nidorf, MD, MBBS, GenesisCare Western Australia, Perth, said at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

The results were published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine (2020 Aug 31. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2021372).

“The totality of evidence from the big three double-blind placebo controlled trials – CANTOS, COLCOT, and LoDoCo2 – are highly consistent and should be practice changing,” Paul Ridker, MD, MPH, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said in an interview.

Massimo Imazio, MD, the formal discussant for the study and professor of cardiology at the University of Turin, Italy, also called for repurposing the inexpensive gout medication for cardiovascular patients.

“I would like to congratulate the authors for a well-designed, large, randomized trial that in my view provides convincing evidence that colchicine is safe and efficacious for secondary prevention in chronic coronary syndrome, of course if tolerated,” he said.

Dr. Imazio noted that colchicine demonstrated similar benefits in the smaller, open-label LoDoCo trial, but that 1 in 10 patients couldn’t tolerate the drug, largely because of gastrointestinal issues. The LoCoDo2 investigators very wisely opted for a 30-day run-in period for tolerance without a loading dose, and 90% of patients in each arm continued study medication while 3.4% stopped because of perceived effects.

Clinicians should bear in mind the potential for side effects and interactions with other medications, particularly statins, observed Dr. Imazio. “So monitoring of repeat blood tests is indicated, especially blood cell count, transaminase, and [creatine kinase] CK.”

Colchicine can be problematic in patients with chronic kidney disease because it is renally excreted, particularly if patients also take some common antibiotics such as clarithromycin, said Dr. Ridker, who led the landmark CANTOS trial. “So while these data are exciting and confirm the importance of inflammation inhibition in stable coronary disease, colchicine is not for all patients.”

During the discussion of the results, Dr. Nidorf said: “We were very concerned at the outset that there would be an interaction because there is certainly literature there, particularly in renal patients. But as the data showed, the incidence of myotoxicity was decidedly rare.”

Further, myotoxic episodes were independently assessed by a blinded reviewer, and although there was one case of mild rhabdomyolysis in the treatment group, it was considered not primarily caused by colchicine, he said. “So we’re fairly comfortable that you can use colchicine at a low dose quite comfortably with full-dose statins.”

Notably, 94% of patients in both groups were taking statins, and two-thirds were on moderate- or high-dose statins. About one-quarter were on dual-antiplatelet therapy, and 12% were on an anticoagulant.

In all, 5,522 patients aged 35-82 years (mean, 66 years) were randomly assigned to colchicine 0.5 mg once daily or placebo on top of proven secondary prevention therapies, and all but one was available for analysis.

Most were male (85%), one-half had hypertension, 18% had diabetes, and 84% had a history of acute coronary syndrome, with an equal number having undergone revascularization. Patients with advanced renal disease, severe heart failure, or severe valvular heart disease were excluded.

Colchicine, when compared with placebo, was associated with significantly lower incidence rates of the top five ranked secondary endpoints:

• Cardiovascular death, MI, or ischemic stroke (4.2% vs. 5.7%; HR, 0.72).
• MI or ischemia-driven revascularization (5.6% vs. 8.1%; HR, 0.67).
• Cardiovascular death or MI (3.6% vs. 5.0%; HR, 0.71).
• Ischemia-driven revascularization (4.9% vs. 6.4%; HR, 0.75).
• MI (3.0% vs. 4.2%; HR, 0.70).

The incidence rates were similar among the remaining three secondary outcomes: ischemic stroke (0.6% vs. 0.9%), all-cause death (2.6% vs. 2.2%), and CV death (0.7% vs. 0.9%), Dr. Nidorf reported.

The effect of colchicine was consistent in 13 subgroups, including those with and without hypertension, diabetes, or prior acute coronary syndrome. Patients in Australia appeared to do better with colchicine than did those in the Netherlands, which was a bit unexpected but likely caused by the play of chance, Dr. Nidorf said.

“Importantly, the effect when we looked at the predictors of outcome of our patients in this trial, they related to factors such as age and diabetes, which were included in both populations. So we believe the effect of therapy to be universal,” he added.

Session moderator Stephan Achenbach, MD, chair of cardiology at the University of Erlangen (Germany), however, noted that event rates were about 3% per year and many patients had undergone coronary revascularizations for acute coronary syndromes, suggesting this may be a preselected, somewhat higher-risk cohort. “Do you think we can transfer these findings to the just-average patient who comes in with chest pain and gets an elective [percutaneous coronary intervention]?” he asked.

Dr. Nidorf replied that, unlike the patients in COLCOT, who were randomized to colchicine within 30 days of an MI, acute events occurred more than 24 months before randomization in most (68.2%) patients. As such, patients were quite stable, and major adverse cardiac event and cardiovascular death rates were also exceedingly low.

“We did not see them as a particularly high-risk group, which I think is one of the beauties of this study,” Dr. Nidorf said. “It looks at people that are very similar to those who come and meet us in our clinics for regular review and follow-up.”

“And in that regard, I think the next time we’re faced with patients in our rooms, we have to ask the question: Are we doing enough for this patient beyond aspirin and statins? Should we be considering treating the inflammatory axis? And now we have an opportunity to do that,” he said.

Serious adverse effects were similar in the colchicine and placebo groups, including hospitalizations for infection (5.0% vs. 5.2%), pneumonia (1.7% vs. 2.0%), or gastrointestinal reasons (1.9% vs. 1.8%). Myotoxicity occurred in four and three patients, respectively.

Although the signal for increased risk of infection observed in CANTOS and COLCOT was not borne out, Dr. Nidorf observed that chest infections can occur frequently in these patients and echoed cautions about a potential unfavorable interaction between clarithromycin and colchicine.

“If we are to use this drug widely, clinicians will need to learn how to use this drug and what drugs to avoid, and that’s an important teaching point,” he said.

Limitations of the study are the small number of women and lack of routine measurement of C-reactive protein or other inflammatory markers at baseline.

The study was supported by the National Health Medical Research Council of Australia, a grant from the Sir Charles Gairdner Research Advisory Committee, the Withering Foundation the Netherlands, the Netherlands Heart Foundation, the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development, and a consortium of Teva, Disphar, and Tiofarma in the Netherlands. The authors’ disclosures are listed in the article.
 

A version of this article originally appeared on Medscape.com.

The anti-inflammatory drug colchicine picked up new support as secondary prevention in chronic coronary disease, cutting the risk of cardiovascular events by one-third when added to standard prevention therapies in the double-blind LoDoCo2 study.

Across a median follow up of 29 months in more than 5,000 patients, almost 1 in 10 patients assigned to placebo experienced the primary endpoint of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction (MI), ischemic stroke, or ischemia-driven coronary revascularization. That risk was 31% lower and resulted in 77 fewer events in those assigned to colchicine (hazard ratio, 0.69; 95% confidence interval, 0.57-0.83).

The beneficial effect of low-dose colchicine 0.5 mg daily was seen early on and accrued over time, extending to five of the eight secondary end points, including a near 30% reduction in the composite of major adverse cardiac events, as well as reductions in the individual endpoints of MI and ischemia-driven revascularization.

“It did that with broadly consistent effects across a range of clinical subgroups, which together speak to the strength of the effect of colchicine on cardiovascular outcomes in the sort of patients we routinely see in our clinics,” primary investigator Mark Nidorf, MD, MBBS, GenesisCare Western Australia, Perth, said at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

The results were published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine (2020 Aug 31. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2021372).

“The totality of evidence from the big three double-blind placebo controlled trials – CANTOS, COLCOT, and LoDoCo2 – are highly consistent and should be practice changing,” Paul Ridker, MD, MPH, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said in an interview.

Massimo Imazio, MD, the formal discussant for the study and professor of cardiology at the University of Turin, Italy, also called for repurposing the inexpensive gout medication for cardiovascular patients.

“I would like to congratulate the authors for a well-designed, large, randomized trial that in my view provides convincing evidence that colchicine is safe and efficacious for secondary prevention in chronic coronary syndrome, of course if tolerated,” he said.

Dr. Imazio noted that colchicine demonstrated similar benefits in the smaller, open-label LoDoCo trial, but that 1 in 10 patients couldn’t tolerate the drug, largely because of gastrointestinal issues. The LoCoDo2 investigators very wisely opted for a 30-day run-in period for tolerance without a loading dose, and 90% of patients in each arm continued study medication while 3.4% stopped because of perceived effects.

Clinicians should bear in mind the potential for side effects and interactions with other medications, particularly statins, observed Dr. Imazio. “So monitoring of repeat blood tests is indicated, especially blood cell count, transaminase, and [creatine kinase] CK.”

Colchicine can be problematic in patients with chronic kidney disease because it is renally excreted, particularly if patients also take some common antibiotics such as clarithromycin, said Dr. Ridker, who led the landmark CANTOS trial. “So while these data are exciting and confirm the importance of inflammation inhibition in stable coronary disease, colchicine is not for all patients.”

During the discussion of the results, Dr. Nidorf said: “We were very concerned at the outset that there would be an interaction because there is certainly literature there, particularly in renal patients. But as the data showed, the incidence of myotoxicity was decidedly rare.”

Further, myotoxic episodes were independently assessed by a blinded reviewer, and although there was one case of mild rhabdomyolysis in the treatment group, it was considered not primarily caused by colchicine, he said. “So we’re fairly comfortable that you can use colchicine at a low dose quite comfortably with full-dose statins.”

Notably, 94% of patients in both groups were taking statins, and two-thirds were on moderate- or high-dose statins. About one-quarter were on dual-antiplatelet therapy, and 12% were on an anticoagulant.

In all, 5,522 patients aged 35-82 years (mean, 66 years) were randomly assigned to colchicine 0.5 mg once daily or placebo on top of proven secondary prevention therapies, and all but one was available for analysis.

Most were male (85%), one-half had hypertension, 18% had diabetes, and 84% had a history of acute coronary syndrome, with an equal number having undergone revascularization. Patients with advanced renal disease, severe heart failure, or severe valvular heart disease were excluded.

Colchicine, when compared with placebo, was associated with significantly lower incidence rates of the top five ranked secondary endpoints:

• Cardiovascular death, MI, or ischemic stroke (4.2% vs. 5.7%; HR, 0.72).
• MI or ischemia-driven revascularization (5.6% vs. 8.1%; HR, 0.67).
• Cardiovascular death or MI (3.6% vs. 5.0%; HR, 0.71).
• Ischemia-driven revascularization (4.9% vs. 6.4%; HR, 0.75).
• MI (3.0% vs. 4.2%; HR, 0.70).

The incidence rates were similar among the remaining three secondary outcomes: ischemic stroke (0.6% vs. 0.9%), all-cause death (2.6% vs. 2.2%), and CV death (0.7% vs. 0.9%), Dr. Nidorf reported.

The effect of colchicine was consistent in 13 subgroups, including those with and without hypertension, diabetes, or prior acute coronary syndrome. Patients in Australia appeared to do better with colchicine than did those in the Netherlands, which was a bit unexpected but likely caused by the play of chance, Dr. Nidorf said.

“Importantly, the effect when we looked at the predictors of outcome of our patients in this trial, they related to factors such as age and diabetes, which were included in both populations. So we believe the effect of therapy to be universal,” he added.

Session moderator Stephan Achenbach, MD, chair of cardiology at the University of Erlangen (Germany), however, noted that event rates were about 3% per year and many patients had undergone coronary revascularizations for acute coronary syndromes, suggesting this may be a preselected, somewhat higher-risk cohort. “Do you think we can transfer these findings to the just-average patient who comes in with chest pain and gets an elective [percutaneous coronary intervention]?” he asked.

Dr. Nidorf replied that, unlike the patients in COLCOT, who were randomized to colchicine within 30 days of an MI, acute events occurred more than 24 months before randomization in most (68.2%) patients. As such, patients were quite stable, and major adverse cardiac event and cardiovascular death rates were also exceedingly low.

“We did not see them as a particularly high-risk group, which I think is one of the beauties of this study,” Dr. Nidorf said. “It looks at people that are very similar to those who come and meet us in our clinics for regular review and follow-up.”

“And in that regard, I think the next time we’re faced with patients in our rooms, we have to ask the question: Are we doing enough for this patient beyond aspirin and statins? Should we be considering treating the inflammatory axis? And now we have an opportunity to do that,” he said.

Serious adverse effects were similar in the colchicine and placebo groups, including hospitalizations for infection (5.0% vs. 5.2%), pneumonia (1.7% vs. 2.0%), or gastrointestinal reasons (1.9% vs. 1.8%). Myotoxicity occurred in four and three patients, respectively.

Although the signal for increased risk of infection observed in CANTOS and COLCOT was not borne out, Dr. Nidorf observed that chest infections can occur frequently in these patients and echoed cautions about a potential unfavorable interaction between clarithromycin and colchicine.

“If we are to use this drug widely, clinicians will need to learn how to use this drug and what drugs to avoid, and that’s an important teaching point,” he said.

Limitations of the study are the small number of women and lack of routine measurement of C-reactive protein or other inflammatory markers at baseline.

The study was supported by the National Health Medical Research Council of Australia, a grant from the Sir Charles Gairdner Research Advisory Committee, the Withering Foundation the Netherlands, the Netherlands Heart Foundation, the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development, and a consortium of Teva, Disphar, and Tiofarma in the Netherlands. The authors’ disclosures are listed in the article.
 

A version of this article originally appeared on Medscape.com.

The anti-inflammatory drug colchicine picked up new support as secondary prevention in chronic coronary disease, cutting the risk of cardiovascular events by one-third when added to standard prevention therapies in the double-blind LoDoCo2 study.

Across a median follow up of 29 months in more than 5,000 patients, almost 1 in 10 patients assigned to placebo experienced the primary endpoint of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction (MI), ischemic stroke, or ischemia-driven coronary revascularization. That risk was 31% lower and resulted in 77 fewer events in those assigned to colchicine (hazard ratio, 0.69; 95% confidence interval, 0.57-0.83).

The beneficial effect of low-dose colchicine 0.5 mg daily was seen early on and accrued over time, extending to five of the eight secondary end points, including a near 30% reduction in the composite of major adverse cardiac events, as well as reductions in the individual endpoints of MI and ischemia-driven revascularization.

“It did that with broadly consistent effects across a range of clinical subgroups, which together speak to the strength of the effect of colchicine on cardiovascular outcomes in the sort of patients we routinely see in our clinics,” primary investigator Mark Nidorf, MD, MBBS, GenesisCare Western Australia, Perth, said at the virtual annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

The results were published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine (2020 Aug 31. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2021372).

“The totality of evidence from the big three double-blind placebo controlled trials – CANTOS, COLCOT, and LoDoCo2 – are highly consistent and should be practice changing,” Paul Ridker, MD, MPH, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said in an interview.

Massimo Imazio, MD, the formal discussant for the study and professor of cardiology at the University of Turin, Italy, also called for repurposing the inexpensive gout medication for cardiovascular patients.

“I would like to congratulate the authors for a well-designed, large, randomized trial that in my view provides convincing evidence that colchicine is safe and efficacious for secondary prevention in chronic coronary syndrome, of course if tolerated,” he said.

Dr. Imazio noted that colchicine demonstrated similar benefits in the smaller, open-label LoDoCo trial, but that 1 in 10 patients couldn’t tolerate the drug, largely because of gastrointestinal issues. The LoCoDo2 investigators very wisely opted for a 30-day run-in period for tolerance without a loading dose, and 90% of patients in each arm continued study medication while 3.4% stopped because of perceived effects.

Clinicians should bear in mind the potential for side effects and interactions with other medications, particularly statins, observed Dr. Imazio. “So monitoring of repeat blood tests is indicated, especially blood cell count, transaminase, and [creatine kinase] CK.”

Colchicine can be problematic in patients with chronic kidney disease because it is renally excreted, particularly if patients also take some common antibiotics such as clarithromycin, said Dr. Ridker, who led the landmark CANTOS trial. “So while these data are exciting and confirm the importance of inflammation inhibition in stable coronary disease, colchicine is not for all patients.”

During the discussion of the results, Dr. Nidorf said: “We were very concerned at the outset that there would be an interaction because there is certainly literature there, particularly in renal patients. But as the data showed, the incidence of myotoxicity was decidedly rare.”

Further, myotoxic episodes were independently assessed by a blinded reviewer, and although there was one case of mild rhabdomyolysis in the treatment group, it was considered not primarily caused by colchicine, he said. “So we’re fairly comfortable that you can use colchicine at a low dose quite comfortably with full-dose statins.”

Notably, 94% of patients in both groups were taking statins, and two-thirds were on moderate- or high-dose statins. About one-quarter were on dual-antiplatelet therapy, and 12% were on an anticoagulant.

In all, 5,522 patients aged 35-82 years (mean, 66 years) were randomly assigned to colchicine 0.5 mg once daily or placebo on top of proven secondary prevention therapies, and all but one was available for analysis.

Most were male (85%), one-half had hypertension, 18% had diabetes, and 84% had a history of acute coronary syndrome, with an equal number having undergone revascularization. Patients with advanced renal disease, severe heart failure, or severe valvular heart disease were excluded.

Colchicine, when compared with placebo, was associated with significantly lower incidence rates of the top five ranked secondary endpoints:

• Cardiovascular death, MI, or ischemic stroke (4.2% vs. 5.7%; HR, 0.72).
• MI or ischemia-driven revascularization (5.6% vs. 8.1%; HR, 0.67).
• Cardiovascular death or MI (3.6% vs. 5.0%; HR, 0.71).
• Ischemia-driven revascularization (4.9% vs. 6.4%; HR, 0.75).
• MI (3.0% vs. 4.2%; HR, 0.70).

The incidence rates were similar among the remaining three secondary outcomes: ischemic stroke (0.6% vs. 0.9%), all-cause death (2.6% vs. 2.2%), and CV death (0.7% vs. 0.9%), Dr. Nidorf reported.

The effect of colchicine was consistent in 13 subgroups, including those with and without hypertension, diabetes, or prior acute coronary syndrome. Patients in Australia appeared to do better with colchicine than did those in the Netherlands, which was a bit unexpected but likely caused by the play of chance, Dr. Nidorf said.

“Importantly, the effect when we looked at the predictors of outcome of our patients in this trial, they related to factors such as age and diabetes, which were included in both populations. So we believe the effect of therapy to be universal,” he added.

Session moderator Stephan Achenbach, MD, chair of cardiology at the University of Erlangen (Germany), however, noted that event rates were about 3% per year and many patients had undergone coronary revascularizations for acute coronary syndromes, suggesting this may be a preselected, somewhat higher-risk cohort. “Do you think we can transfer these findings to the just-average patient who comes in with chest pain and gets an elective [percutaneous coronary intervention]?” he asked.

Dr. Nidorf replied that, unlike the patients in COLCOT, who were randomized to colchicine within 30 days of an MI, acute events occurred more than 24 months before randomization in most (68.2%) patients. As such, patients were quite stable, and major adverse cardiac event and cardiovascular death rates were also exceedingly low.

“We did not see them as a particularly high-risk group, which I think is one of the beauties of this study,” Dr. Nidorf said. “It looks at people that are very similar to those who come and meet us in our clinics for regular review and follow-up.”

“And in that regard, I think the next time we’re faced with patients in our rooms, we have to ask the question: Are we doing enough for this patient beyond aspirin and statins? Should we be considering treating the inflammatory axis? And now we have an opportunity to do that,” he said.

Serious adverse effects were similar in the colchicine and placebo groups, including hospitalizations for infection (5.0% vs. 5.2%), pneumonia (1.7% vs. 2.0%), or gastrointestinal reasons (1.9% vs. 1.8%). Myotoxicity occurred in four and three patients, respectively.

Although the signal for increased risk of infection observed in CANTOS and COLCOT was not borne out, Dr. Nidorf observed that chest infections can occur frequently in these patients and echoed cautions about a potential unfavorable interaction between clarithromycin and colchicine.

“If we are to use this drug widely, clinicians will need to learn how to use this drug and what drugs to avoid, and that’s an important teaching point,” he said.

Limitations of the study are the small number of women and lack of routine measurement of C-reactive protein or other inflammatory markers at baseline.

The study was supported by the National Health Medical Research Council of Australia, a grant from the Sir Charles Gairdner Research Advisory Committee, the Withering Foundation the Netherlands, the Netherlands Heart Foundation, the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development, and a consortium of Teva, Disphar, and Tiofarma in the Netherlands. The authors’ disclosures are listed in the article.
 

A version of this article originally appeared on Medscape.com.