Abstract
Abstract only e19335 Background: Left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) are increasingly utilized in advanced heart failure (HF). There is a paucity of data regarding outcomes of cancer-directed therapies (CDT) in patients with LVAD. The aim of this study was to describe outcomes in this newly identified group of patients. Methods: Institutional LVAD database review to identify patients with cancer diagnosis who had at least 6 months of follow up. Chart review to capture cancer history, CDT and high-severity complications. Results: 12 of the 588 patients who received LVAD were diagnosed with cancer and received CDT. Six patients were males, 9 African Americans and 3 Caucasians. Ischemic cardiomyopathy (CM) was the etiology of HF in 4 (33%) patients, 9 (66%) patients had non-ischemic CM (including: chemotherapy induced n = 3, idiopathic n = 3, myocarditis n = 1, sarcoidosis n = 1). Cancer diagnoses, staging and high severity complications are described in table. The median age of cancer diagnosis was 59 (41-72). The median time from LVAD placement to cancer diagnosis was 21.5 months (3-47). The median number of hospitalizations was 4 (range 1-7). Conclusions: Cancer diagnosis after LVAD placement requires a multidisciplinary approach due to high rates of adverse cardiovascular and cancer related outcomes. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of patients with LVAD receiving chemo-immunotherapy, they did not tolerate the combination and immunotherapy was discontinued after one cycle, a larger study is required to assess safety in LVAD patients. Larger prospective studies are required to determine outcomes in this complex patient population. [Table: see text]