LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP OF CARDIOVASCULAR RISK-FACTORS IN PATIENTS GIVEN CHEMOTHERAPY FOR DISSEMINATED NONSEMINOMATOUS TESTICULAR CANCER

. Objective: To assess cardiovascular risk factors over time in patients who received chemotherapy for disseminated testicular cancer and were apparently cured. . Design: Cohort study. . Setting: Referral center. . Patients: Fifty-seven consecutive patients (median age, 28 years; range, 16 to 43 years) who received cisplatin-containing chemotherapy between 1978 and 1985. . Measurements: Serum cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, kidney function, and hormonal status were monitored during follow-up after chemotherapy (median follow-up, 88 months; range, 56 to 143 months). The BMI and cholesterol values obtained 4 to 6 years after chemotherapy were compared with values from a sample of healthy, age-matched Dutch men; the cholesterol level was also compared with that of 31 patients treated with orchidectomy for stage I disease. . Results: The mean cholesterol level in patients at the start of chemotherapy was 3.96 +/- 0.98 mmol/L [153 +/- 38 mg/dL], increasing 4 to 6 years later to 6.12 +/- 1.20 mmol/L [237 +/- 46 mg/dL] (P 3.4 mmol/L [130 mg/dL]), with a mean level of 4.47 +/- 1.05 mmol/L [173 +/- 41 mg/dL]. Compared with a sample of healthy Dutch men, the chemotherapy group had an elevated cholesterol level (P <0.05). At 4 to 6 years, the mean HDL cholesterol level was 0.76 +/- 0.18 mmol/L [29 +/- 7 mg/dL], which was low compared with that of the healthy Dutch men (P <0.05). The mean BMI for all patients was 2.8% higher than expected 4 to 6 years after chemotherapy (P