Sunday 29 September is World Heart Day, a vital and worldwide initiative dedicated to raising awareness of cardiovascular health. Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of mortality worldwide. A good reason to give extra thought to the importance of research in improving cardiovascular health. That is why we will highlight some of the important research projects from Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences (ACS) during this week. Today, we are proud to highlight the third project this week: the ITHACA project.
Cancer therapy and cardiovascular disease
ACS researcher Nick van Es has recently been awarded a Veni grant for a multidisciplinary study that bridges oncology and cardiovascular field. For patients with cancer, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have been a revolutionary treatment option. However, large studies show that the use of these inhibitors increases the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease by about two- to threefold. This might be due to inflammation-induced accelerated atherosclerosis.
Anti-inflammation treatment
To better understand which how ICI may lead to accelerated atherosclerosis, a prospective observational cohort study (ITHACA) led by PhD candidate Anniek Strijdhorst is ongoing. Patients with cancer who are starting the treatment with checkpoint inhibitors will undergo a baseline coronary CT angiography. This will be repeated after 12 months and compared. In a follow-up proof-of-concept randomization controlled trial (the COLA trial), the effects of colchicine will be assessed. Colchicine is a cheap and safe anti-inflammatory drug that may limit accelerated atherosclerosis.
A CVD prediction model
About half of the patients with cancer is eligible for treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors. The expectation is that the use of these drugs will grow significantly in the coming years, with positive outcomes on cancer survival. However, now that these drugs are associated with a risk on cardiovascular disease, it is important to identify patients with a higher risk on CVD and start early preventive treatment. That is why, as part of this project, efforts are made to develop a clinical prediction model with the use of Danish national databases.
Nick van Es has been awarded a Veni grant for this project by NWO, which is part of the NWO Talent Program. An overview of all of this years laureates can be found on the NWO website.
With this recently awarded grant, the project is now in the starting phase. If you are a patient or caregiver and have questions regarding the project or want to collaborate, you are welcome to contact dr. Van Es.