This retrospective cohort study, which compared survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) with age-matched general population controls, estimated that HL survivors have an absolute excess risk of 70 cases of CHD and 58 cases of HF per 10,000 person-years. These risks are higher with longer follow-up, with absolute excess risks of 475 and 382 events per 10,000 person-years, respectively, more than 35 years after treatment. Mediastinal radiotherapy and anthracycline chemotherapy were identified as relevant risk factors, with overall hazard ratios of 3.6 and 1.5, respectively, for any CVD diagnosis.
The authors of a related commentary note that this research adds to a body of evidence regarding risk factors in cancer survivorship that do not fit into traditional cardiovascular risk models. It is not known whether screening or early intervention with traditional approaches would be effective at reducing morbidity or mortality from cardiovascular disease in such a population, and prospective studies are required to address this unknown