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As the intersection between cardiology and oncology continues to expand, much has been said about the shared risk factors of these conditions, in particular, tobacco use, a suboptimal diet and physical inactivity.1 In addition, the reported cardiovascular toxicity of cancer therapy in all its forms has been extensively documented and appropriately has raised our collective awareness. The importance of heart disease in patients undergoing cancer care cannot be understated, but also how critical it becomes to prioritise a care continuum after cancer is survived. The fantastic progress in the treatment and even cure of malignancies has undoubtedly highlighted the need for postcancer care like never before. We are now perhaps entering the next level of that care, where we can find direction related to what postcancer care needs to be, what are the specific warning signs and enhance the clinician’s focus, tailoring attention to specific issues related to the particular malignancy or treatment. Caregivers need to know what diagnostic tests to focus on and how aggressive the follow-up should be.
Another critical level of work needed is to help understand associations of a genetic basis for shared risk. Studies from information contained in large databases have reported on human genes associated with cancer and cardiovascular comorbidities’ interconnection, predominantly genes related to pathways associated with DNA damage repair.
In the case of heart failure (HF), the twist of a link between HF syndromes and subsequent cancer has also been revealed in recent studies.2 In this case, the link has been hypothesised due to the chronic activation of several systemic pathways well known to clinicians. As a result of chronic myocardial dysfunction and the consequent dysfunction of our downstream peripheral organs, the potential …
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Contributors Both authors contributed equally to this paper.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests None declared.
Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed.
Linked Articles
- Cardiac risk factors and prevention