Risk of major adverse cardiovascular events among second-line hormonal therapy for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: A real-world evidence study

Background To evaluate the possible major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) associated with second-line hormonal therapy in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Methods We performed a population-based real-world cohort study of 4962 prostate cancer patients between 2014 and 2017 utilizing the Chang Gung Research Database of Taiwan. The second-line hormonal therapies included enzalutamide and abiraterone acetate. The outcomes of interest were MACE, including acute coronary syndrome (ACS), ischemic stroke (IS), and heart failure (HF) events that resulted in hospitalization. Cox proportional-hazards models with inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) with propensity scores were used. Results After IPTW, 288 patients were prescribed second-line hormonal therapy and 1575 received first-line androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT). Of all patients diagnosed with MACE, the event rates were 2.92% in the second-line hormonal group and 2.22% in the first-line ADT group. The mean follow-up period was 9.52 months for the second-line hormonal group. Patients who received second-line hormonal therapy exhibited a significantly increased risk for MACE (hazard ratio [HR]: 3.15; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.03-4.89), ACS (HR: 4.94; 95% CI: 2.36-10.33), and HF (HR: 2.83; 95% CI: 1.53-5.25), compared with the first-line ADT group, but a similar risk for IS was observed in both groups (HR: 1.70; 95% CI: 0.95-3.04). Conclusions The real-world evidence study revealed increased risks for MACE in mCRPC patients receiving second-line hormonal therapy.