Cardiovascular disease (CVD), particularly atherosclerotic CVD, is associated with an increased risk of cancer, according to a study published in JACC: CardioOncology.

Researchers found that atherosclerotic and non-atherosclerotic CVD were associated with an increased risk of cancer, but the risk of most cancer types studied was higher for patients with atherosclerotic CVD.

The researchers used IBM MarketScan claims data from more than 27 million patients to compare the cumulative risk of cancer in patients with or without CVD. The study included patients aged 18 years or older who had at least 3 years of follow-up. The mean age of the patients was 43.3 years, and 55.7% were women.  

Continue Reading

In an adjusted analysis, patients with CVD had a higher risk of cancer than those without CVD (hazard ratio [HR], 1.13; 95% CI, 1.12-1.13; P <.001). 

Patients with atherosclerotic CVD had a higher risk of cancer than patients without CVD (HR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.19-1.21; P <.001) and those with non-atherosclerotic CVD (HR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.11-1.12; P <.001). 

When the researchers looked at individual cancer types, they found that atherosclerotic and non-atherosclerotic CVD were associated with an increased risk of multiple cancers. 

Compared with non-atherosclerotic CVD, atherosclerotic CVD was associated with a higher risk of lung, bladder, colon, liver, head and neck, prostate, pancreatic, and kidney cancers as well as lymphoma, leukemia, and other hematologic malignancies. However, atherosclerotic CVD was associated with a lower risk of breast, ovarian, and uterine cancer. 

“Further basic work is needed to understand the biological interactions of different CVD types with cancer, in addition to prospective studies considering whether patients with different types of CVD could benefit from adjusted cancer prevention or screening protocols,” the researchers wrote.  

Reference

Bell CF, Lei X, Haas A, et al. Risk of cancer after diagnosis of cardiovascular disease. JACC CardioOncol. Published online April 11, 2023. doi:10.1016/j.jaccao.2023.01.010

Topics:

Bladder Cancer Gastrointestinal Cancer Genitourinary Cancer Gynecologic Cancers Head and Neck Cancer Hematologic Cancers Lung Cancer Ovarian Cancer