Cardiovascular Toxicities Risk with Sunitinib in Cancer Patients: a Meta-analysis

The aim was to evaluate the risk of cardiovascular toxicities in cancer patients who were taking sunitinib. Randomized controlled trials using sunitinib to treat cancer patients published before November 15, 2020 were searched in Embase, Web of Science and PubMed. Outcome include cardiovascular toxicities such as hypertension, bleeding, and thromboembolism. A total of 11 studies including 5875 patients were included. The use of sunitinib can increase the cardiovascular toxicity of patients, such as all-grade hypertension (RR: 4.74, 95% CI 3.24-6.92), high-grade hypertension (RR: 4.13, 95% CI 2.95-5.76) and all-grades bleeding (RR: 3.16, 95% CI 2.38-4.20). However, sunitinib does not increase the risk of all-grade thromboembolism in cancer patients (RR: 1.45, 95% CI 0.44-4.79). Meta-analysis shows that the use of sunitinib can increase cardiovas-cular toxicity in cancer patients. Therefore, doctors should understand these risks clinically and carry out cardiovascular monitoring on a regular basis.

Automated summary

The study aimed to evaluate the risk of cardiovascular toxicities in cancer patients taking sunitinib. It found that the use of sunitinib can increase the cardiovascular toxicity of patients, such as hypertension and bleeding, but does not increase the risk of thromboembolism. Doctors should be aware of these risks and regularly monitor the cardiovascular health of patients.