Advanced heart, kidney and metabolic disease linked to higher cancer risk
· News-Medical"The study findings suggest that it is important to consider not only cardiovascular disease risk, but also cancer risk in people with CKM syndrome," said Hidehiro Kaneko, M.D., Ph.D., the study's lead author and associate professor in the department of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Tokyo in Japan.
CKM syndrome is broken down into stages by severity, ranging from stage 0 with no risk factors to stage 4 with cardiovascular disease such as heart attack, stroke or heart failure.
Study results:
Compared with healthy participants (CKM syndrome stage 0), cancer risk increased sharply only in the later stages of CKM syndrome:
- Stage 1 – 3% higher risk of developing cancer
- Stage 2 – 2% higher risk of developing cancer
- Stage 3 – 25% higher risk of developing cancer
- Stage 4 – 30% higher risk of developing cancer
Hidehiro Kaneko, M.D., Ph.D., study's lead authorCKM syndrome represents a complex interplay among the cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic systems, where dysfunction in one area may trigger or exacerbate dysfunction in others. Dysfunction in each of these systems is independently associated with cancer risk due to shared risk factors. This study suggests that the accumulation of risk factors within the framework of CKM syndrome may contribute to the development of various types of cancer."
"We already know that cancer and its therapies can lead to cardiotoxicities and cardiovascular disease," said American Heart Association volunteer, Tochukwu Okwuosa, D.O., who is director of cardio-oncology services at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. "The study highlights the bidirectional relationship and underscores the concept of reverse cardio-oncology where cardiovascular disease and its risk factors also increase cancer risk. Consequently, healthy lifestyle choices potentially impact both conditions that are the leading causes of death in the United States. For those with established cardiovascular risk, the CKM syndrome staging framework may be a useful tool to flag high risk individuals for potential cancer screenings and evaluations."
According to the manuscript, a limitation of the study is that results from a Japanese population may not be fully generalizable to other countries. However, other studies have "consistently reported that metabolic and kidney dysfunction are associated with increased risk of cancer," supporting the possibility that the findings apply in other populations.
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