Decreased cardiovascular and extrahepatic cancer-related mortality in treated patients with mild HFE hemochromatosis

Abstract

Background & aims: Mortality studies in patients with hemochromatosis give conflicting results especially with respect to extrahepatic causes of death. Our objective was to assess mortality and causes of death in a cohort of patients homozygous for the C282Y mutation in the HFE gene, diagnosed since the availability of HFE testing.

Methods: We studied 1085 C282Y homozygotes, consecutively diagnosed from 1996 to 2009, and treated according to current recommendations. Mortality and causes of death were obtained from death certificates and compared to those of the general population. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were used to assess specific causes of death and the Cox model was used to identify prognostic factors for death.

Results: Patients were followed for 8.3±3.9 years. Overall the SMR was the same as in the general population (0.94 CI: 0.71-1.22). Patients with serum ferritin⩾2000 μg/L had increased liver-related deaths (SMR: 23.9 CI: 13.9-38.2), especially due to hepatic cancer (SMR: 49.1 CI: 24.5-87.9). Patients with serum ferritin between normal and 1000 μg/L had a lower mortality than the general population (SMR: 0.27 CI: 0.1-0.5), due to a decreased mortality, related to reduced cardiovascular events and extrahepatic cancers in the absence of increased liver-related mortality. Age, diabetes, alcohol consumption, and hepatic fibrosis were independent prognostic factors of death.

Conclusions: In treated HFE hemochromatosis, only patients with serum ferritin higher than 2000 μg/L have an increased mortality, mainly related to liver diseases. Those with mild iron burden have a decreased overall mortality in relation to reduced cardiovascular and extrahepatic cancer-related events. These results support a beneficial effect of early and sustained management of patients with iron excess, even when mild.

Keywords: Cancer; Cardiovascular disease; HFE; Hemochromatosis; Iron overload; Survival.