Background: A history of cancer is incorporated into the surgical risk assessment of patients undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement through the Society for Thoracic Surgeons score. However, the prognostic significance of cancer in patients treated with transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is unclear. As the cancer survivorship population increases, it is imperative to establish the efficacy and safety of TAVR in patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis (AS) and a history of malignancy. Objectives: The primary goal of this study was to assess the periprocedural outcomes and long-term mortality in patients with a history of cancer undergoing TAVR. Methods: A systematic review of PubMed, MEDLINE, and EMBASE was conducted to identify studies reporting outcomes in patients with a history of malignancy undergoing TAVR. A meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects model with a primary outcome of all-cause mortality and cardiac mortality at the longest followup. On secondary analyses, procedural safety was assessed. Results: A total of 13 observational studies with 10,916 patients were identified in the systematic review. Seven studies including 6,323 patients were included in the quantitative analysis. Short-term mortality (relative risk [RR] 0.61, 95%CI 0.36-1.01; p = .06) and long-term all-cause mortality (RR 1.24, 95%CI 0.95-1.63; p = .11) were not significantly different when comparing patients with and without a history of cancer. No significant difference in the rate of periprocedural complications including stroke, bleeding, acute kidney injury, and pacemaker implantation was noted. Conclusion: In patients with severe AS undergoing TAVR, a history of cancer was not associated with adverse short or long-term survival. Based on these findings, TAVR should be considered in all patients with severe symptomatic AS, irrespective of their history of malignancy.

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Background: Spontaneous cervical artery dissection (sCAD) is a leading cause of ischemic stroke in young patients. Studies using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography have suggested vessel wall inflammation to be a pathogenic factor in sCAD. Computed tomography (CT) attenuation of perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) is an established non-invasive imaging biomarker of inflammation in coronary arteries, with higher attenuation values reflecting a greater degree of vascular inflammation. Objectives: We evaluate the CT attenuation of PVAT surrounding the internal carotid artery (PVAT_carotid) with and without spontaneous dissection. Methods: Single-centre prospective observational study of 56 consecutive patients with CT-verified spontaneous dissection of the internal carotid artery (ICA) admitted between 2011 and 2018. Of these patients, 6 underwent follow-up CTA. 22 patients who underwent CTA for acute neurological symptoms but did not have dissection formed the control group. Using semiautomated research software, PVAT_carotid was measured as the mean Hounsfield Unit (HU) attenuation of adipose tissue within a defined volume of interest surrounding the ICA. Results: PVAT_carotid was significantly higher around dissected ICA compared with non-dissected contralateral ICA in the same patients (-58.7±10.2 vs. -68.9±8.1 HU, P<0.0001) and ICA of patients without dissection (-58.7±10.2 vs. -69.3±9.3 HU, P<0.0001). After a median follow-up of 89 days, there was a significant reduction in PVAT_carotid around dissected ICA (from -57.5±13.4 to -74.3±10.5 HU, P<0.05); while no change was observed around non-dissected contralateral ICA (from -71.0±4.4 to -74.1±4.1 HU, P=0.19). ICA dissection was an independent predictor of PVAT_carotid following multivariable adjustment for age and the presence of ICA occlusion. Conclusion: PVAT_carotid is elevated in the presence of sCAD and may decrease following the acute event.

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