Can a broken heart lead to cancer?

Historically, cancer and cardiovascular diseases were seen as separate entities only sharing several common risk factors, e.g. smoking, obesity and genetic background.¹ Recent evidence, however, demonstrates that heart failure as a result of a heart attack promotes cancer development in mice.² In the field of cardio-oncology, the toxic effects of anti-cancer drugs on the heart, eventually leading to heart failure or other cardiovascular adverse events, are being investigated extensively. However, the possibility of heart failure causing or worsening cancer growth is a novel discovery and is leading to the rise of the ‘reversed cardio-oncology’ field.

How does heart failure promote cancer growth? Several studies point towards proteins that are secreted by the damaged heart.^2,3 These proteins are secreted by several biological processes with the aim to heal injuries, similar to wound healing. The ‘wound healing’ processes that are favorable in the heart, however, might promote cancer growth. During my PhD I will study the link between heart failure and cancer with a specific focus on endothelium-derived growth factors. 

References:

1. Avraham, S., Abu-Sharki, S., Shofti, R., Haas, T., Korin, B., Kalfon, R., Friedman, T., Shiran, A., Saliba, W., Shaked, Y., & Aronheim, A. (2020). Early Cardiac Remodeling Promotes Tumor Growth and Metastasis. Circulation, 142(7), 670–683. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.046471​
2. Meijers, W. C., Maglione, M., Bakker, S. J. L., Oberhuber, R., Kieneker, L. M., De Jong, S., Haubner, B. J., Nagengast, W. B., Lyon, A. R., Van Der Vegt, B., Van Veldhuisen, D. J., Westenbrink, B. D., Van Der Meer, P., Silljé, H. H. W., & De Boer, R. A. (2018). Heart failure stimulates tumor growth by circulating factors. Circulation, 138(7), 678–691. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.030816​
3. Moslehi, J., Zhang, Q., & Moore, K. J. (2020). Crosstalk between the heart and cancer: Beyond drug toxicity. In Circulation (Vol. 142, Issue 7, pp. 684–687). Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.048655