CVD is prevalent both before and after cancer diagnosis, with strong relations to increased cancer, cardiovascular and all-cause mortality among cancer survivors in New South Wales, Australia.
Nearly one in five people newly diagnosed with cancer had pre-existing major CVD in the 5 years before diagnosis, and prevalence rose steeply with age.
More than a quarter of cancer patients without pre-existing CVD had newly documented major CVD after cancer diagnosis.
Age-standardised incidence of post-cancer CVD was highest in pancreatic and lung cancer.
Pre-existing CVD was associated with higher cancer mortality for most cancer types, with the size of the association varying by cancer.
Pre-existing CVD was associated with substantially higher cardiovascular mortality across cancers.
Post-cancer newly documented CVD was associated with cancer mortality, with the association varying widely by cancer type.
Post-cancer newly documented CVD was associated with higher cardiovascular mortality across all 20 cancers examined.
Both pre-existing and post-cancer CVD were strongly related to increased cancer, cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.
This study followed more than 344,000 people diagnosed with cancer in New South Wales, Australia, between 2006 and 2016, using hospital records to identify major heart and blood vessel disease (CVD). About 18% already had CVD in the five years before their cancer diagnosis, ranging from 3% in people under 50 to 40% in those 80 and older. Among those who did not have CVD beforehand, 27% were newly recorded with CVD after their cancer diagnosis. Rates were highest in people with pancreatic and lung cancer. Having CVD, either before or after the cancer diagnosis, was linked with a higher risk of dying. This included death from cardiovascular causes, which was raised for every cancer type examined, and death from any cause. Death from cancer itself was also generally higher, although for a few cancers (such as kidney cancer for pre-existing CVD and liver cancer for post-cancer CVD) no clear link was seen. The strength of the links differed considerably between cancer types. This research suggests that heart disease is a common and important issue for people living with cancer, not just a background condition. The authors argue that survivorship care that looks at the whole person and addresses shared risk factors could help improve both cancer and cardiovascular outcomes. Because this is an observational study based on hospital records, it shows associations rather than proving cause and effect.
Rahman M, Bell K, Joshy G, David M, Canfell K, Goldsbury D, et al.. (2026). Pre-Existing and Post-Cancer Major Cardiovascular Disease and Their Association With Mortality Outcomes Among Cancer Survivors in Australia.. Cancer medicine. https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.72413