Risk factors for developing cardiac toxicities in cancer patients treated with panitumumab combination therapy.

To evaluate the incidence and risk of cardiac toxicities associated with panitumumab in advanced cancer of Caucasian patients. The incidence of cardiac toxicity was assessed by simple incidence rates and rates per 100 person-years. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression was conducted. Panitumumab-containing therapy significantly increased the risk of developing cardiac arrhythmias (p = 0.036), but not for any cardiac event (p = 0.24) or ischemic event (p = 0.087). The absolute rate of developing cardiac arrhythmia was 10.0 events versus 7.5 events per 100 person-years. Pre-existing hypertension (p = 0.033), history of cardiac disease (p = 0.055) or panitumumab usage (p = 0.046) were risk factors for cardiac arrhythmias. The addition of panitumumab to chemotherapy increases the risk of developing cardiac arrhythmia, but not for any cardiac toxicity or ischemic events.