Key result
Continuous dual antiplatelet therapy beyond 12 months post-PCI was associated with a higher risk of cancer compared to aspirin alone (4.15% vs 4.04%; HR 1.221; 95% CI 1.061-1.405; p=0.005).
Why the study?
Does continuing dual antiplatelet therapy for 30 months compared to 12 months affect cancer risk and all-cause mortality in event-free post-PCI patients?
Cohort (n=25,938)
Does continuing dual antiplatelet therapy for 30 months compared to 12 months affect cancer risk and all-cause mortality in event-free post-PCI patients?
Hazard Ratio: 1.221 (95% CI 1.061–1.405)
Absolute Event Rate: 4.15% vs 4.04%
p-value: p=0.005
Continuing dual antiplatelet therapy for 30 months in event-free post-PCI patients is associated with a mild excess cancer risk and no mortality benefit compared to standard 12-month therapy.
Prolonged DAPT post-PCI may raise cancer risk and warrants caution; leaves open causality and needs prospective confirmation.
The optimal duration and cancer risks of antiplatelet therapy following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are unclear. We compared cancer and all-cause mortality after dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) for the combination of clopidogrel and aspirin (ASA) versus ASA alone over 18 months follow-up in event-free patients at 12 months DAPT from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment (HIRA) dataset via the Korean Outcomes Registry Evaluating Antithrombotics (KOREA). We selected PCI patients who were event free for 12 months and maintained a consistent antiplatelet regimen for 18 more months. The primary endpoints were any cancer and all-cause mortality at 30 months follow-up after PCI. From 320,351 screened post-PCI patient HIRA records, we excluded 294,413 and qualified 25,938, constituting DAPT (n=10,992) and ASA (n=14,946) groups. The Propensity Score Matching (PSM), and Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting (IPTW) revealed no significant differences in background demographics and clinical characteristics for DAPT versus ASA patients. At 30-months post-PCI, after massive (>91 %) exclusions, cancer risk was higher for continuous DAPT [455 (4.15 %) vs 606 (4.04 %); HR=1.221; 95 %CI: 1.061-1.405; p=0.005], which remained significant by PSM (p=0.006) or IPTW (p=0.007), while all-cause mortality was similar [136 (1.24 %) vs 192 (1.28 %) HR=0.999; 95 %CI: 0.736-1.135; p=0.993]. This analysis suggests a potential mild excess cancer risk, but no mortality benefit in Korean post-PCI patients treated with DAPT for an additional 18 months beyond conventional 12 months DAPT. These data are not supporting continuing DAPT for more than one year in East Asians. Analysing cancer types and assessing potential cancer association with bleeding are warranted.
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Cabrera-Fuentes et al. (2017) conducted a cohort in Post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (n=25,938). Dual antiplatelet therapy (clopidogrel and aspirin) vs. Aspirin alone was evaluated on Any cancer at 30 months follow-up after PCI (HR 1.221, 95% CI 1.061-1.405, p=0.005). Continuous dual antiplatelet therapy beyond 12 months post-PCI was associated with a higher risk of cancer compared to aspirin alone (4.15% vs 4.04%; HR 1.221; 95% CI 1.061-1.405; p=0.005).
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