Carotid intima-media thickness and laboratory parameters of atherosclerosis risk in patients with breast cancer.

To investigate the relation between intima-media thickness (IMT) and laboratory parameters of atherosclerosis risk in patients with breast carcinoma. IMT and a panel of laboratory parameters associated with the risk of atherosclerosis were studied in 192 patients with histologically-verified breast carcinoma. Patients with metastatic disease had significantly higher fibrinogen, C-reactive protein (CRP), urinary neopterin and mean IMT, and significantly lower serum albumin and hemoglobin concentrations. Significant correlations were observed between CRP, urinary neopterin, mean IMT and other parameters of cardiovascular risk. Age was an independent predictor of the presence of sonographic signs of atherosclerosis using logistic regression, and age, glucose, time from start of chemotherapy, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, D-dimers were independently associated with IMT in stepwise regression models. In addition to the associations between IMT and laboratory or clinical parameters of the risk of atherosclerosis, IMT may also be associated with the time from chemotherapy.