What question did this study set out to answer?

Investigate the relationship between plasma BNP levels and cancer-related inflammation.

June 1, 2017PLoS ONEOpen Access

Plasma brain natriuretic peptide levels are elevated in patients with cancer

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Why the study?

Does the presence of cancer elevate plasma BNP levels independent of heart failure in patients without overt cardiovascular disease?

Key Points

Investigate the relationship between plasma BNP levels and cancer-related inflammation.
Retrospective analysis of 2,923 patients measuring plasma BNP and serum CRP levels.
Exclusion of patients with heart failure, heart disease, renal dysfunction, or inflammatory disease.
Evaluation of inflammation's effect on plasma BNP in mouse models of colon cancer.
In the final analysis of 234 patients, 80 were diagnosed with cancer.
Plasma BNP and serum CRP levels were significantly higher in cancer patients than controls.
A significant positive correlation was found between plasma BNP and serum CRP levels in cancer patients (r = 0.360, P<0.01).

Structured PICO

Does the presence of cancer elevate plasma BNP levels independent of heart failure in patients without overt cardiovascular disease?

Population

234 patients (80 with cancer, 154 without cancer) without clinically evident heart failure (NYHA II or higher), heart disease requiring medical treatment or surgery, severe renal dysfunction (GFR <30 mL/min/1.73 m2), or inflammatory disease. Also included female BALB/cA nu/nu mice with subcutaneous colon cancer (LIM 1215 cells).

Intervention

Presence of cancer (solid or hematological) prior to surgery or chemotherapy.

Comparator

Patients without cancer (n=154) evaluated for other reasons (e.g., hypertension, preoperative screening) with normal cardiac function.

Outcome

Plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels and their correlation with serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels.surrogate

Plasma BNP levels can be elevated in cancer patients due to cancer-related inflammation rather than heart failure, which must be considered when using BNP as a cardiovascular biomarker in oncology.

Limitations

Smaller number of cancer patients compared to non-cancer patients
Lack of any direct hemodynamic evidence to completely rule out hidden heart failure
Potential influence of sarcopenia or skeletal muscle loss on physical function and hidden heart failure

Discussion

No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.

Implication

May confound BNP interpretation as HF marker in cancer; leaves open need for adjusted thresholds in oncology.

Cite This Study

Bando et al. (2017) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a212dbc2c7e251d79c3d3fe https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0178607

View Full Paper

Ask AI

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Plasma brain natriuretic peptide levels are elevated in patients with cancer

Key Points

Structured PICO

Limitations

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Plasma brain natriuretic peptide levels are elevated in patients with cancer

Key Points

Structured PICO

Limitations

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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