Men with heart disease ‘face higher risk of developing and dying of cancer’

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By Storm Newton, PA Media

Men with heart disease face a higher risk of developing and dying from cancer than women, a study suggests.

The “primary drivers” behind cases in men were smoking, obesity and drinking too much alcohol, researchers said, with the link most pronounced in lung and oesophageal cancers.

Experts called for “more to be done” to manage risks, such as targeted screening.

It included data from 22,534 people taking part in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC)-Norfolk study.

Almost 11,000 either had cardiovascular disease (CVD) at the start of the study or developed it during the follow-up period.

The study found the lifetime risk of developing cancer among those with CVD was higher in men (17.3%) compared with women (12.8%).

In those without CVD, the risk of cancer was 10.2% for men and 8.2% for women.

Dr Tiberiu Pana, specialty registrar in cardiology at NHS Grampian, and honorary early career clinical research fellow at the University of Aberdeen, said: “We found that cancer incidence and death were higher in people with cardiovascular disease than in those without – a relationship we already knew a bit about.