Why the study?
Does neck radiotherapy cause long-term cardiovascular autonomic impairment in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma?
Does neck radiotherapy cause long-term cardiovascular autonomic impairment in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma?
Radiation-induced cardiovascular autonomic impairment is a progressive process associated with chronic inflammation and time since radiotherapy.
Neck radiotherapy was associated with autonomic impairment in nasopharyngeal carcinoma; leaves open need for prospective monitoring studies.
INTRODUCTION: Baroreflex failure has been reported as a late sequalum of neck radiotherapy. In this study we investigated cardiovascular autonomic function in patients after neck radiotherapy to determine predictive factors associated with outcome. METHODS: Eighty-nine patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma were evaluated ≥6 months after radiotherapy for cardiovascular autonomic function and compared with 48 control subjects. Inflammatory markers and carotid intima-media thickness were also assessed. RESULTS: Autonomic parameters of heart rate response to deep breathing and Valsalva ratio were significantly lower in the patient group. Cardiovascular autonomic impairment was generally mild with relative sparing of the efferent cardiovagal pathway. By univariate and multivariate analyses, the time after radiotherapy and C-reactive protein level were significantly associated with the degree of cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS: Radiation-induced cardiovascular autonomic impairment is a dynamic and progressive process that occurs long after radiotherapy. Chronic inflammation plays a major role in this process.
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Huang et al. (2012) studied this question.
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