A large UK study suggests that men living with cardiovascular disease may face a greater risk of developing cancer and dying from it than women with cardiovascular disease.
Researchers followed more than 20,000 people for about 25 years and found clear differences between men and women. Lung and digestive system cancers were among the areas where the differences were especially noticeable.
Cardiovascular disease is a broad name for illnesses involving the heart and blood vessels. It includes coronary heart disease, heart failure, abnormal heart rhythms such as atrial fibrillation, stroke, and other blood vessel problems. These conditions are extremely common and remain a major cause of illness and death around the world.
Cancer and cardiovascular disease may seem like separate health problems, but scientists increasingly believe they have important connections.
Both become more common with age, and both can be influenced by smoking, excess body weight, low physical activity, unhealthy diets, and heavy alcohol use. Long-term inflammation and other changes inside the body may also contribute to both diseases.
Previous research has shown that people with cancer can later develop heart problems, sometimes because certain cancer treatments affect the heart. This has led to the growth of cardio-oncology, a field that tries to protect the heart health of people receiving cancer treatment.
Less attention has been given to the opposite question: whether people who already have cardiovascular disease are more likely to develop cancer.
Researchers from Keele University and the University of Aberdeen wanted to explore that question while also examining whether the relationship differs between men and women. The research was led by Professor Phyo Myint of the University of Aberdeen. Professor Mamas Mamas of Keele University and Dr. Tiberiu Pana were also among the researchers involved.
The team studied information from 22,534 people in the United Kingdom. The data came from EPIC-Norfolk, part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, a major long-running population study. Following participants for more than two decades allowed the researchers to examine both new cancer diagnoses and deaths from cancer over time.
The researchers found that people with cardiovascular disease had higher rates of cancer and cancer-related death than people without cardiovascular disease. More importantly, the study revealed a difference between the sexes. Men with cardiovascular disease generally experienced higher cancer incidence and cancer mortality than women.
The pattern appeared across the cancer groups examined rather than being limited to only one form of the disease. The researchers reported particularly important differences for cancers such as lung and esophageal cancer, while lung and colorectal cancers contributed substantially to the overall burden.
These findings suggest that the link between heart and blood vessel disease and cancer may not affect men and women in exactly the same way.
Why might this happen? The study cannot provide a single answer, but the researchers believe shared lifestyle risks are likely to play an important part. Smoking, obesity, alcohol use, and other factors can damage the cardiovascular system while also increasing the chance of several cancers.
Biological differences between men and women could also matter, although more research is needed. Hormones, immune responses, patterns of body fat, and differences in when diseases are diagnosed or treated may influence long-term health outcomes. Men and women may also have different patterns of smoking, alcohol use, medical checkups, and use of preventive health services.
The researchers say these findings could have practical importance for health care. At present, much of cardio-oncology focuses on preventing heart disease in people who have cancer. The new study suggests doctors may also need to think more carefully about cancer prevention in people who already have cardiovascular disease.
This does not mean every man with heart disease needs intensive cancer testing. Cancer screening has benefits and possible harms, so screening decisions should be based on age, individual risk, symptoms, and established medical guidelines.
However, cardiovascular care may provide an opportunity for doctors to discuss smoking, weight, alcohol, physical activity, and participation in recommended cancer screening programs.
Professor Myint suggested that earlier attention to cardiovascular risk could potentially form part of a broader cancer-prevention strategy, particularly for men. The researchers also called for better risk management and more targeted prevention. Identifying people who face several overlapping risks could allow health professionals to intervene before serious disease develops.
The study was published in the European Heart Journal. Its long follow-up period and large group of participants are important strengths because they allowed researchers to examine health outcomes over many years rather than relying on a short snapshot.
Still, the findings need to be interpreted carefully. This was an observational study, so it can show that cardiovascular disease and cancer risk are connected, but it cannot prove that heart disease itself causes cancer. Shared risk factors may explain part of the relationship, and factors that were not fully measured could also have influenced the results.
The study population also came from a particular UK cohort, meaning the exact size of the risks may not apply equally to every population. Future research should examine more diverse groups and investigate why the differences between men and women occur.
Researchers will also need to determine whether special cancer-prevention programs for people with cardiovascular disease actually improve outcomes.
Overall, the study strengthens the idea that heart health and cancer prevention should not always be treated as completely separate areas of medicine. For men in particular, cardiovascular disease may identify a group that deserves closer attention to preventable cancer risks.
The most useful message is not that heart disease inevitably leads to cancer, but that many of the same preventable risks affect both diseases and deserve attention as early as possible.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that artificial sweeteners are linked to higher cancer risk, and how drinking milk affects risks of heart disease and cancer.
For more health information, please see recent studies about the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease, and results showing vitamin D supplements strongly reduces cancer death.
Source: Keele University and the University of Aberdeen.
