N-Terminal Pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide Plasma Levels Are Associated with Intermediate-Term Follow-Up Cancer in Coronary Patients

• Main Authors: José Tuñón, Ana Pello, Álvaro Aceña, Sergio Ramos-Cillán, Juan Martínez-Milla, Óscar González-Lorenzo, Jesús Fuentes-Antras, Nieves Tarín, Carmen Cristóbal, Luis M. Blanco-Colio, José Luis Martín-Ventura, Ana Huelmos, Carlos Gutiérrez-Landaluce, Marta López-Castillo, Joaquín Alonso, Lorenzo López Bescós, Jesús Egido, Ignacio Mahíllo-Fernández, Óscar Lorenzo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
• Series: Journal of Clinical Medicine
• Subjects: coronary artery disease; N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide; cancer; tumor; biomarker
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/10/18/4042

N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) plasma levels are increased in patients with cancer. In this paper, we test whether NT-proBNP may identify patients who are going to receive a future cancer diagnosis (CD) in the intermediate-term follow-up. We studied 962 patients with stable coronary artery disease and free of cancer and heart failure at baseline. This sample represents a re-analysis of a previous work expanding the sample size and the follow-up. NT-proBNP, galectin-3, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hsTnI), and calcidiol (vitamin D) plasma levels were assessed. The primary outcome was new CD. After 5.40 (2.81–6.94) years of follow-up, 59 patients received a CD. NT-proBNP [HR 1.036 CI (1.015–1.056) per increase in 100 pg/mL; <i>p</i> = 0.001], previous atrial fibrillation (HR 3.140 CI (1.196–8.243); <i>p</i> = 0.020), and absence of previous heart failure (HR 0.067 CI (0.006–0.802); <i>p</i> = 0.033) were independent predictors of receiving a CD in the first three years of follow-up. None of the variables analyzed predicted a CD beyond this time. The number of patients developing heart failure during follow-up was 0 (0.0%) in patients receiving CD in the first three years of follow-up, 2 (6.9%) in those receiving a CD diagnosis beyond this time, and 40 (4.4%) in patients not developing cancer (<i>p</i> = 0.216). These numbers suggest that future heart failure was not a confounding factor. In patients with coronary artery disease, NT-proBNP was an independent predictor of CD in the first three years of follow-up but not later, suggesting that it could be detecting subclinical undiagnosed cancers.