Characteristics, Management, and Outcomes of Active Cancer Patients with Cardiogenic Shock

Aims: Characteristics, management, and outcomes of patients with active cancer admitted for cardiogenic shock remain largely unknown. This study aimed to address this issue and identify the determinants of 30-day and 1-year mortality in a large cardiogenic shock cohort of all aetiologies.

Methods And Results: FRENSHOCK is a prospective multicenter observational registry conducted in French critical care units between April and October 2016. 'Active cancer' was defined as a malignancy diagnosed within the previous weeks with planned or ongoing anticancer therapy. Among the 772 enrolled patients (mean age 65.7 ± 14.9 years; 71.5% male), 51 (6.6%) had active cancer. Among them, the main cancer types were solid cancers (60.8%), and hematological malignancies (27.5%). Solid cancers were mainly urogenital (21.6%), gastrointestinal (15.7%), and lung cancer (9.8%). Medical history, clinical presentation, and baseline echocardiography were almost the same between groups. In-hospital management significantly differed: patients with cancers received more catecholamines or inotropes (norepinephrine 72% vs. 52%, P = 0.005 and norepinephrine-dobutamine combination 64.7% vs. 44.5%, P = 0.005), but had less mechanical circulatory support (5.9% vs. 19.5%, P = 0.016). They presented a similar 30-day mortality rate (29% vs. 26%) but a significantly higher mortality at 1-year (70.6% vs. 45.2%, P < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, active cancer was not associated with 30-day mortality but was significantly associated with 1-year mortality in 30-day survivors [HR 3.61 (1.29-10.11), P = 0.015].

Conclusion: Active cancer patients accounted for almost 7% of all cases of cardiogenic shock. Early mortality was the same regardless of active cancer or not, whereas long-term mortality was significantly increased in patients with active cancer.