Remember when you were a teenager, and nothing could bring you down? Well, recent research suggests it might not be that simple for everyone.
At the VCU Massey Cancer Center, they found out that many young survivors of kidney cancer are walking around with a ticking time bomb in their chests – they’re at a big risk for heart problems.
Youth isn’t a Magic Shield
Usually, being young is like having a magic shield against health troubles. But, strangely, for people who have had kidney cancer in their teens or early adulthood, this doesn’t seem to be the case.
This group of people, usually aged between 15 and 39, are known as “adolescents and young adults” or AYAs in the medical world.
The researchers found that these AYAs are at a much higher risk of heart disease than other folks their age.
The Two Meanies: Sunitinib and Sorafenib
The study looked at AYAs who had been given drugs to stop blood vessels from growing as part of their cancer treatment. In particular, the scientists were interested in two drugs called sunitinib and sorafenib.
Guess what they found? Almost half of those treated with sorafenib, and a third of those given sunitinib, ended up with high blood pressure.
The researchers had initially thought that being young would shield these survivors from heart problems, but it turns out that’s not the case.
These young people are actually at risk of a type of heart failure known as “left ventricular systolic dysfunction.”
A Rising Tide of Young Cancer Patients
Each year, around 90,000 AYAs are diagnosed with cancer in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society.
The most common cancers among this group are kidney, thyroid, and colorectal cancers, and these numbers have been going up in recent years.
Compared to their healthy peers, AYAs who have had cancer are more than twice as likely to develop heart disease.
Worse still, if an AYA with heart disease is compared to one without, the one with heart disease is almost ten times more likely to die.
VEGF Inhibitors: A Double-Edged Sword
Now, let’s dive a little into the science behind these drugs. Your body has a system of signals that help new blood vessels grow. This is called “angiogenesis.”
One of the chemicals that control this process is the vascular endothelial growth factor, or VEGF. VEGF is like a key that turns on the blood vessel growth machine.
Cancer cells are greedy little things. They need lots of oxygen and nutrients to grow and spread, and they get these from blood. So, if a tumor can grow more blood vessels, it will grow faster.
To stop this, doctors often use drugs called VEGF inhibitors, which block the VEGF key from turning on the blood vessel machine. Sunitinib and sorafenib are two such VEGF inhibitors.
These VEGF inhibitors are used quite often in cancer treatment. But the problem is that they can also damage the heart, leading to high blood pressure and heart failure.
The Call for More Research
So, here’s the takeaway: we need more research to understand why these young kidney cancer survivors are at such high risk of heart problems, and what we can do about it.
As Wendy Bottinor, the lead author of the study, puts it, “Understanding the relationship between cancer diagnosis, treatment, and heart disease is imperative to promoting cardiovascular health over the entire lifetime of adolescent and youngadult cancer survivors.”
The Big Picture
What’s the bigger picture here? Well, the battle against cancer isn’t over once the disease has been beaten back. Even after winning that fight, these young survivors are left facing another foe – heart disease.
And it’s not just any old heart disease, either. Hypertension is a major problem. It puts the heart and blood vessels under a lot of strain, which can lead to irregular heartbeats, heart attacks, or strokes.
Sneaky Heart Troubles
Why are we just learning about this now? Well, heart problems can be sneaky. They don’t always show up right away.
Sometimes, it can take years or even decades for the damage to become noticeable. By that time, the person might be very sick, and it could be too late to reverse the damage.
That’s why it’s so important to catch these problems early, and why this study is so valuable.
By identifying a group of people who are at high risk, doctors can keep a closer eye on them and hopefully catch any problems before they become serious.
Knowledge is Power
So, what can we do with this knowledge? For starters, doctors can use it to make better decisions about how to treat their patients.
Knowing that these drugs could cause heart problems might make them think twice about using them, or they might monitor their patients more closely after treatment.
Patients can use this knowledge, too. If you’re a young person who has beaten kidney cancer, this might sound scary, but remember: knowledge is power.
Now that you know about this risk, you can take steps to reduce it.
That might mean working with your doctor to monitor your heart health, making healthy lifestyle changes, or even just getting regular check-ups to make sure everything’s okay.
Looking Ahead
Despite these findings, there’s a lot we still don’t know. We need more studies to figure out why these drugs cause heart problems and how we can stop it from happening.
Maybe we can find a way to block the bad effects of these drugs while keeping the good ones, or maybe we can find new treatments that don’t have these risks.
For now, though, the most important thing is to raise awareness. If you’re a doctor, a patient, or even just someone who knows someone who’s had cancer, spread the word.
Let people know about this risk so they can take steps to protect themselves.
And remember: the fight against cancer doesn’t end when the disease is gone. It’s a lifelong journey, and we need to be ready to face whatever comes our way.
Keywords: Kidney cancer, young cancer survivors, heart disease risk, VEGF inhibitors, sunitinib, sorafenib, hypertension, left ventricular systolic dysfunction, adolescent and young adults (AYAs), cancer treatment side effects, cardiovascular health, VCU Massey Cancer Center, Wendy Bottinor.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk, and herbal supplements could harm your heart rhythm.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about how drinking milk affects risks of heart disease and cancer, and results showing strawberries could help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
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