Cardiovascular mortality risk among small bowel adenocarcinoma patients: a population-based study

Background: The objective of this research is to statistically assess the risk of cardiovascular mortality (CVM) between patients with small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) and the general population. Additionally, it aims to identify CVM-associated risk factors among individuals with SBA.

Methods: Data obtained between 2000 and 2017 on SBA patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were examined. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and absolute excess risks (AERs) were obtained to compare CVM between patients and the general US population. To evaluate the cumulative mortality (CM) rate for all causes of death (COD), cumulative hazard curves were constructed. Two multivariate competing risk models were established to determine the independent predictors for CVM.

Results: In the cohort of 5,175 SBA patients observed for 15,068.24 person-years, a total of 205 deaths were attributed to cardiovascular disease (CVD). The overall SMR of CVM was 1.41 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.23-1.62, P < 0.05), whereas it reached 2.99 during the early stage of latency. Additionally, independent risk factors for CVM included age, marital status, calendar year of diagnosis, disease differentiation degree, SEER stage, and chemotherapy status.

Conclusions: SBA patients exhibited a substantially elevated risk of developing CVM compared to the general US population. During the follow-up period, the CM rate for CVM continued to rise steadily. Timely identification of high-risk groups and effective interventions to safeguard cardiovascular health significantly improve patient prognosis.