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Epigenetic Age Acceleration Mediates Treatment Effects on Cardiometabolic and Cardiovascular Risk in Childhood Cancer

Xiaoxi Meng¹, Tiffany Eulalio¹, Yoonji Kim¹

¹Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.

JACC. Cardiooncology

|July 8, 2025

Abstract

Background:

Childhood cancer survivors are at increased risk for epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) and subsequent morbidities, including cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRFs) and cardiovascular diseases, because of prior genotoxic treatments.

Objectives:

The aim of this study was to evaluate the mediating role of EAA in the relationship between cancer treatment exposures and risk for CMRFs and cardiovascular diseases.

Methods:

This study included 2,939 5-year survivors from SJLIFE (St. Jude Lifetime Cohort) who underwent DNA methylation profiling using peripheral blood mononuclear cells. EAA was calculated using 3 established epigenetic clocks: DunedinPACE, PCPhenoAge, and GrimAge2. Treatment data, including body region-specific radiotherapy (RT) and chemotherapeutic agents such as anthracyclines and corticosteroids, were abstracted from medical records. Outcomes included 3 CMRFs (abnormal glucose metabolism, hypertension, and obesity) and 2 cardiovascular diseases (cardiomyopathy and myocardial infarction). Mediation analysis was conducted to quantify the extent to which EAA mediated the association between each treatment exposure and each clinical outcome.

Results:

EAA partially mediated the associations between abdominal RT and abnormal glucose metabolism (DunedinPACE 35.4%, GrimAge2 16.2%), between abdominal RT (DunedinPACE 25.9%) or anthracyclines (DunedinPACE 12.5%) and hypertension, and between corticosteroids and obesity (DunedinPACE 8.6%). EAA also mediated the associations between heart RT and cardiomyopathy (PCPhenoAge 30.3%, DunedinPACE 19.9%, GrimAge2 14.4%) and myocardial infarction (PCPhenoAge 24.1%, DunedinPACE 15.5%, GrimAge2 13.2%), and anthracyclines and cardiomyopathy (GrimAge2 6.0%, PCPhenoAge 5.2%, DunedinPACE 3.9%).

Conclusions:

EAA accounted for a substantial proportion of the association between cancer treatment exposures and risk for CMRFs and cardiovascular diseases. These findings provide insight into biological aging as a potential mechanistic pathway and support the development of interventions targeting accelerated aging to mitigate long-term treatment-related toxicities and reduce premature mortality in this high-risk population.

Keywords:

biomarkers cancer survivorship cancer treatment cardiometabolic risk factors cardiovascular diseases childhood cancer survivor epidemiology epigenetic age acceleration epigenetics mediation prevention treatment

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