Incident cancer in heart failure, myocardial infarction or both: a report from a global federated research network

Abstract Background Heart failure (HF) and myocardial infarction (MI) may promote cancer development through common aetiological pathways. This study aims to investigate the mid-term risk of cancer in patients with HF or MI using a large, real-world dataset. Methods Adults with a first hospitalisation for acute HF or MI (AMI) between October 2015 and October 2024 were included from the TriNetX Global Collaborative Research Network. Each patient was matched 1:1 with controls without HF or AMI using propensity score matching (PSM). The primary endpoint was any new cancer diagnosis occurring during follow-up, starting 6 months after the index hospitalisation. Results Following PSM, the population included 120,783 HF patients and 7,896 AMI patients. After a median follow-up of 16 (IQR 0; 42) months for the HF cohort and of 16 (IQR 0; 40) months for the AMI cohort, both groups showed an increased risk of incident cancer compared to controls (HF: HR 2.80 [95% CI, 2.69-2.91], p