Mechanistic Biomarkers Informative of Both Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease: JACC State-of-the-Art Review

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer are leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although conventionally managed as separate disease processes, recent research has lent insight into compelling commonalities between CVD and cancer, including shared mechanisms for disease development and progression. In this review, the authors discuss several pathophysiological processes common to both CVD and cancer, such as inflammation, resistance to cell death, cellular proliferation, neurohormonal stress, angiogenesis, and genomic instability, in an effort to understand common mechanisms of both disease states. In particular, the authors highlight key circulating and genomic biomarkers associated with each of these processes, as well as their associations with risk and prognosis in both cancer and CVD. The purpose of this state-of-the-art review is to further our understanding of the potential mechanisms underlying cancer and CVD by contextualizing pathways and biomarkers common to both diseases.

Keywords: biomarkers; cancer; cardio-oncology; cardiovascular disease.

Central Illustration.. Shared Pathophysiologic Mechanisms Between Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer.

Several classic “hallmarks of cancer” share biologic overlap with cardiovascular disease. Recent research has focused on the potential mechanistic links between cardiovascular disease and cancer, and how circulating biomarkers may inform diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy across both diseases.