UK men with heart disease at higher risk of developing and dying from cancer
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- University of Aberdeen and Keele University researchers analyzed health data from 22,000 Britons over 25 years, finding lifetime cancer risk of 17.3% in men with cardiovascular disease versus 12.8% in women with CVD.
- Men without heart disease had a 10.2% lifetime cancer risk compared to 8.2% for women without CVD, narrowing the gap that CVD dramatically widens.
- Lung and oesophageal cancers showed the strongest link to cardiovascular disease, alongside elevated rates of gastric, bowel, and non-melanoma skin cancers.
- Dr. Tiberiu Pana of NHS Grampian said the long study window allowed clearer examination of gender differences across all cancer types in CVD patients.
- Professor Mamas Mamas called for cardio-oncology services to expand beyond preventing heart disease in cancer patients and start identifying cancer risk in cardiac patients.
- Cancer Research UK's Nicola Smith noted that overlapping risk factors and higher deprivation rates may explain the connection, urging people to address modifiable factors like smoking, weight, and alcohol intake.
- Cardiovascular disease patients faced higher cancer mortality, particularly from gastric, oesophageal, and lung cancers, compared to those without heart disease.
Why it matters: With roughly half the 22,000-person cohort having or developing CVD, the finding reframes heart disease clinics as potential cancer prevention sites. The study, published in the European Heart Journal, makes a concrete clinical case: cardiologists should screen male patients for cancer risk, not just the reverse.
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