Colorectal cancer and the heart: Uncovering the beat of racial disparities in MACCE.

1611 Background: Due to its high prevalence, colorectal cancer (CRC) forms a considerable burden on the healthcare system. Advancements in treatment modalities like immunotherapy have led to significant improvement in the 5-year survival. This, along with the cardiotoxic therapy regimens results in a remarkable incidence of major cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE). Thus, it becomes imperative to address the intricacies of factors including racial disparities in MACCE, as these aid with facilitating equitable management of all CRC patients. Methods: Using ICD-10 codes, patients with CRC were identified from National Inpatient Sample 2019 database. We included all-cause in-hospital mortality (ACIHM), acute myocardial infarction (AMI), atrial fibrillation (AF), cerebrovascular accident (CVA), and sudden cardiac death (SCD) as MACCE for the outcomes. Baseline characteristics including demographics, comorbidities; and MACCE outcomes were studied using chi-square for categorical or ANOVA for continuous data (statistical significance determined as p-value < 0.05) and results were stratified based on patient’s races. Results: A total sample patient population of 171,695 patients with a diagnosis of CRC were identified of which 70.71% (121,410) were White, 13.85% (23,790) were Black, 9.15% (15,720) were Hispanic, 3.23% (5,555) were Asian/Pacific Islander, 0.5% (840) were Native American, and 2.55% (4380) belonged to Other races. Substantial differences in the prevalence of comorbidities were noted with hypertension (46.32%) and renal failure (24.74%) being more common in Black patients, diabetes mellitus (37.5%) in Native American patients, and dyslipidemia (37.89%) in White patients. Upon comparison with White patients, the ACIHM was higher in Black patients with adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 1.23 (95% CI 1.057-1.432, p = 0.007) and Asian/Pacific Islander patients with aOR of 1.359 (1.014-1.823, p = 0.04). While AMI was found to be lower in all races, as compared to White patients, AF was remarkably higher in all races. CVA was higher in Black patients as compared to White patients with aOR of 1.626 (95% CI 1.401-1.886, p < 0.001). SCD was substantially higher in Black patients with aOR 2.059 (95% CI 1.478-2.869, p < 0.001), and in Hispanic patients with aOR 1.743 (95% CI 1.1-2.761, p = 0.018), when compared to White patients. Conclusions: The study noted higher prevalence of MACCE across the board with poorer outcomes in non-White populations, which highlights the urgent need for resource allocation to improve outcomes. This has to be done in pre and post cancer treatment patients, especially in high risk populations. Additionally, the role of cardio-oncology service at every stage of management of CRC appears to be crucial.