Acute Coronary Syndrome during Chemotherapy: Report of Three Cases

Abstract

Venous vascular events (VE) are frequently diagnosed during cancer chemotherapytreatment. The arterial VE are uncommon and can be lifethreatening if incorrectly diagnosed and treated. The authors describe three uncommon cases of acute coronary syndromes diagnosed during chemotherapy. Patient 1 had a germ cell tumor of testis and presented no risk factor for coronary diseases and was just 27 years old. However, he presented cardiac arrest and acute myocardial infarct in a post-mortem examination. Patient 2, with a lung adenocarcinome, ex-smoker and with family history of AMI, presented an acute myocardial infarct during the second cycle of gemcitabine and cisplatin regimen. Patient 3 had a squamous cell carcinoma of the right tonsil, was hypertensive, diabetic and exsmoker; however, he presented three major vascular events during chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin. Cancer chemotherapy, especially when cisplatin is administered, may be uncommonly associated with coronary ischemic events.