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Fatal heart disease among cancer patients

Kelsey C Stoltzfus1, Ying Zhang2, Kathleen Sturgeon3

  • 1Department of Radiation Oncology, Penn State Cancer Institute, Hershey, PA, 17033, USA.

Nature Communications
|April 26, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Cancer patients face a higher risk of fatal heart disease, with older, male, and African American individuals being most vulnerable. This risk escalates over time for most cancer survivors.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Oncology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Increasing survival rates in cancer patients and an aging population lead to a greater overlap between heart disease and cancer.
  • Identifying cancer patients at elevated risk for fatal heart disease is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify cancer patients at the highest risk of death from heart disease.
  • To compare the risk of fatal heart disease in cancer patients to the general population and other cancer patient groups.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of a large cohort of cancer patients.
  • Calculation of heart disease-specific mortality rates and standardized mortality ratios (SMR).

Main Results:

  • Out of 7,529,481 cancer patients, 394,849 died from heart disease.
  • The heart disease-specific mortality rate was 10.61 per 10,000 person-years.
  • The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for fatal heart disease was 2.24, indicating a significantly increased risk.

Conclusions:

  • Older, male, African American, and unmarried cancer patients face the greatest risk of fatal heart disease.
  • The risk of fatal heart disease generally increases with time for cancer survivors.
  • This highlights the need for integrated care strategies for cancer patients with cardiovascular risks.

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