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AHA Scientific Sessions 2026 Abstract

Heart risk scores underestimated risk after cancer immunotherapy

Among patients rated low risk, heart attacks and strokes occurred at 8.0-fold and 6.5-fold the rates predicted by two standard calculators.

Paper by Giselle Suero-Abreu, Sarah M Urbut, Azin Ghamari, +4 more authorsTomas G Neilan · Heart and Vascular Institute

Our read

Biomarkers
Studied:
Cohort study of 23,727 cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors, median 1.1 years
What changed:
Cardiovascular event rates in low-risk patients were 8.0-fold higher than predicted by PCE and 6.5-fold higher for PREVENT
The catch:
Risk scores were calculated using estimated values for missing data
Why it’s aging research:
It bears on staying healthy in midlife and later life.

Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News

Paper
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At Mass General Brigham, 25,105 cancer patients given immune checkpoint inhibitors—drugs that help the immune system attack cancer—formed a retrospective observational cohort. Their average age was 65, and 52.5% were male. Researchers excluded 1,378 patients with existing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, which involves fatty deposits in arteries. They assessed new heart attacks caused by disruption of these deposits and strokes caused by blocked blood flow in the remaining 23,727 patients.

Over a median follow-up of 1.1 years, 1,531 events occurred (6.5%). Both standard risk calculators underestimated risk, particularly in younger patients. Event rates rose steeply within two years across all risk groups. Blood markers improved prediction. Immune-related side effects affecting more organ systems were associated with greater cardiovascular risk.

Why it matters

Artery disease is an age-related health concern. The authors said the findings support immunotherapy-specific risk tools incorporating blood markers and immune-related side effects to guide cardiovascular prevention.

Caveats

The retrospective analysis used estimated values for missing data and could not rule out differences in underlying health as explanations for the link between immune-related side effects and cardiovascular events. The findings were reported in a conference abstract; 78.0% of patients had cancer that had spread to distant sites.

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