Decoding the link between heart failure and incident cancer

Listen to the podcast associated with this article, which can also be found at ESC CardioTalk https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Whatwe-do/news/ESC-Cardio-Talk This editorial refers to ‘Statin use is associated with lower cancer risk and cancer-related mortality in patients with heart failure’, by Q.-W. Ren et al., doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehab325. Several studies have described a link between cardiovascular risk factors or established cardiovascular disease and incident cancer. For example, in a recent study that included 20 305 participants from the Framingham Heart Study and the Prevention of Renal and Vascular End-Stage Disease (PREVEND) study, traditional cardiovascular risk factors (including age, sex, and tobacco use), 10-year atherosclerotic risk score, and natriuretic peptide concentrations were associated with an increased risk of incident cancer.1 More specifically, overlapping risk factors for heart failure (HF) and cancer have also been described, such as age, hypertension, diabetes, tobacco use, lack of physical activity, and obesity.2 Inflammation, oxidative stress,...