Cardiovascular Toxicity in Cancer Patients Treated with Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors: A Real-World Single-Center Experience

Background: Target therapy can cause various cardiovascular complications. The aim of this study was to evaluate the burden of cardiovascular complications related to treatment with anti-BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and to determine if there are differences between the latest- and first-generation TKIs. Methods: A retrospective observational study was carried out on 55 patients (39 men, 16 women; mean age ± SD: 58 ± 11 years) treated with TKIs targeting Bcr-Abl for a median period of 3.5 years. Patients were divided in two groups according to the type of treatment. Group A included patients treated with latest-generation TKI (nilotinib, dasatinib, and ponatinib), while group B included patients treated with first-generation TKI (imatinib). Cardiological evaluation included electrocardiogram, echocardiogram with global longitudinal strain of left ventricle (GLS), and carotid ultrasound scan with arterial stiffness measurement (pulse wave velocity, PWV). Adverse cardiovascular events were recorded in both groups. Results: Statistical analysis showed that cardiovascular adverse events (myocardial ischemia, peripheral artery disease, deep vein thrombosis, and pleural effusion) were significantly more frequent in group A than group B (p value = 0.044). Moreover, there was a significant reduction in GLS and PWV in group A when compared to group B (respectively, p = 0.03 and p = 0.004). Conclusions: Our study confirms that imatinib is a relatively safe drug, while it reveals that the latest-generation TKIs may cause a burden of cardiovascular complications. GLS and PWV allow detection of early signs of cardiac and vascular toxicity in oncohematologic patients treated with TKI, and their use is advisable.