Cancer and cardiovascular disease: converging burdens, shared challenges

Interaction between cancer and cardiovascular disease. Cancer and cardiovascular disease share common risk factors, including age, smoking, poor diet and alcohol abuse. An ageing population and rising obesity rates, coupled with improved survival after a diagnosis of cancer or cardiovascular disease, contribute to an increasing overlap between cardiovascular and oncologic patient populations. Cancer-related systemic inflammation, metabolic changes, hypercoagulability, clonal haematopoiesis, and amyloid light chain deposition, as well as cancer treatment-related toxicity, can harm cardiovascular health. An emerging hypothesis raises the possibility that cardiovascular disease may influence cancer development; however, current evidence remains conflicting. Optimal management in patients with cancer and cardiovascular disease requires a balanced assessment of multiple competing risks that integrates patient-, cancer-, and treatment-related factors.