Medics have learned how a heart attack increases cancer risk
The risk of cancer becomes higher because of the extracellular bubbles that the heart releases after a seizure. This has been proven by medical professionals from Israel.
The likelihood that a person will develop cancer can depend on many factors. Among them are lifestyle (eating behavior, bad habits, amount of stress), health features and diseases suffered, heredity and number of children. Previous work has shown that heart disease is linked to a higher risk of cancer through three common factors: smoking, diabetes and obesity. However, the new study suggests that there is a separate, specific mechanism.
Researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Chaim Sheba Medical Center (both in Israel) have found that the risk of cancer in cardiovascular disease is increased by vesicles - extracellular bubbles that the heart releases after an attack to heal. These vesicles enter the bloodstream and can trigger the development of a malignant tumor in any part of the body. A scientific article with relevant findings was published by the journal Circulation.
When the heart is damaged, vesicles are released in large quantities. They are associated with inflammation, healing, growth, and the creation of new blood vessels. Vesicles directly contribute to some types of tumors or precancerous tissue. In addition, vesicles affect the human immune system, making the body more vulnerable.
The researchers verified the described mechanism by suppressing the formation of extracellular vesicles in mice with cardiovascular disease, in whose bodies they created cancerous tumors. When the heart stopped releasing vesicles, the risk of developing cancer decreased. However, the scientists noted, it is impossible to use such a method in therapy: it leads to serious side effects. Therefore, they treated the heart in such a way as to reduce tissue damage and reduce the production of neurotransmitters:
"We used spironolactone, a well-known, effective drug used to treat heart failure. We treated animals with spironolactone at the earliest stage of the disease and found that the heart produced 30% fewer extracellular vesicles and the cancerous tumors grew more slowly. Our experiment shows that it is possible to treat heart disease in a way that reduces the risk of cancer in heart patients."
According to the scientists, the results of their study may help adjust existing heart treatments so that therapy takes cancer risk into account. In addition, they noted, it is important to identify biomarkers that indicate an increased predisposition to cancer in heart disease because it has not been documented in all patients.