Cardiovascular Risk, Health Metrics, and Cancer Prediction: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular medicine
• Oncology
• Preventive medicine

Background:

• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer are leading global causes of death.
• Shared risk factors suggest a potential link between CVD risk assessment tools and cancer incidence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and summarize studies investigating the association between CVD risk scores, CVH metrics, and cancer incidence.
• To identify if established CVD risk factors can predict cancer development.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive systematic search of four major databases (Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science: Core) was performed in April 2024.
• Data from 13 eligible prospective studies, involving adults aged 18 and above, were independently screened and extracted by five reviewers.
• Studies focused on cancer incidence as the outcome and CVD risk scores or CVH metrics as exposures.

Main Results:

• The review included 13 studies examining 14 CVD or CVH metrics, with sample sizes ranging from 1,880 to 342,226 participants.
• Higher atherosclerotic CVD risk scores were consistently linked to increased cancer incidence (Hazard Ratios: 1.16–3.71).
• Ideal cardiovascular health metrics, such as the American Heart Association's Life's Simple 7, were associated with a reduced risk of cancer (Hazard Ratios: 0.49–0.95).

Conclusions:

• Most included studies indicate that poorer CVD risk scores and suboptimal CVH metrics predict a greater risk of developing cancer.
• Despite heterogeneity in metrics and cancer types, the findings support a link between cardiovascular health and cancer risk.
• Future research should concentrate on specific CVD risk metrics and cancer types to enable meta-analyses and refine predictive models.