Developing heart failure may make people increasingly vulnerable to cancer, according to a major new study unveiled at a conference today.
The analysis of more than 200,000 people in Germany with an average age of 72 found that 25% of heart failure patients developed cancer compared with 16% of a population of others of similar age and weight during a ten year period.
Heart failure patients faced a doubled risk for cancers of the lip, oral cavity and pharynx and increased risks for several other cancers including breast cancer and lymphoid and haematopoietic tissue cancers.
The findings were reported to the Heart Failure 2021 conference and published today in ESC Heart Failure.
Researcher Dr Mark Luedde, of the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel and Cardiology Joint Practice Bremerhaven, Germany, said: “Our results allow us to speculate that there may be a causal relationship between heart failure and an increased rate of cancer. This is biologically plausible, as there is experimental evidence that factors secreted by the failing heart may stimulate tumour growth.
“While heart failure and cancer share common risk factors such as obesity and diabetes, these were accounted for in the analysis by matching. It should be noted that our database does not include information on smoking, alcohol consumption or physical activity, so we were unable to match for these in the analysis.”
Dr Luedde added: “It is common practice for cancer patients who have received heart-damaging drugs to be monitored for heart failure. Conversely, evidence is accumulating to indicate that heart failure patients could benefit from intensive monitoring for cancer development – for example through screening. Considering the high incidence of both diseases and their impact of the lives of those affected, these patients deserve the maximum joint efforts of cardiologists and oncologists.”
Heart failure is associated with an increased incidence of cancer diagnoses. ESC Heart Fail 28 June 2021; doi:10.1002/ehf2.13421
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