Why the study?
It is unclear whether cancer survivors have an increased risk of AF compared to the general population, and specific screening recommendations for oncology patients are lacking.
Does cancer survivorship (>12 months post-treatment) increase the risk of atrial fibrillation compared to the general population?
Population
Sixteen studies of adults >18 years who were >12 months post completion of cancer treatment
Comparison
Cancer survivors compared to the general population
Design
Systematic review and meta-analysis
Key result
Cancer survivors >12 months post-treatment had a combined annualized atrial fibrillation rate of 0.7%, which was not significantly increased compared to the general population.
Authors
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May support AF screening in cancer survivors; leaves open whether detection rates exceed general population enough to change guidelines.
Meta-Analysis (n=1,406,464)
Does cancer survivorship (>12 months post-treatment) increase the risk of atrial fibrillation compared to the general population?
Cancer survivors >12 months post-treatment do not appear to have a significantly increased rate of atrial fibrillation compared to the general population, though high study heterogeneity warrants caution.
Bao et al. (2023) conducted a meta-analysis in Cancer (n=1,406,464). Cancer survivorship (>12 months post-treatment) vs. General population was evaluated on Annualized rate of atrial fibrillation (95% CI 0.1-0.98). Cancer survivors >12 months post-treatment had a combined annualized atrial fibrillation rate of 0.7%, which was not significantly increased compared to the general population.