Clinical Corner
The relationship between heart disease and cancer
There’s nothing sweet about the relationship between heart disease and cancer
When the calendar changes to February, red and pink heart-shaped candy fills store shelves in preparation for Valentine’s Day. Let those hearts also serve as a reminder of another February event: American Heart Month.
Health conditions, lifestyle choices and family history can all increase your risk of heart disease. But did you know that cancer and heart disease have been linked?
There’s nothing sweet about their relationship — studies have shown heart disease may increase your risk of developing cancer, and cancer treatments may increase your risk of heart disease.
A 2019 National Health Institute-funded study found heart attack survivors were more likely to develop cancer than those without cardiovascular disease. Even just being high-risk for cardiovascular disease puts individuals at a higher risk of developing cancer. Cancer and cardiovascular disease share many of the same risk factors, such as tobacco use and poor nutrition, but researchers are still working to identify if there is a biological link between the two.
Conversely, a study published in the European Heart Journal found more than one in 10 cancer patients die not from their cancer but from heart problems. Cancer patients dying from cardiovascular disease was highest in those who had bladder (19% of patients), larynx (17%), prostate (17%), womb (16%), bowel (14%) or breast (12%) cancers.
To read the rest of the story, click here.
Clinical Trial Highlight
University of Florida Health is proud to offer options for our patients.
Questions about how to send a patient? Please contact the Clinical Trials Office at cancer-center@ufl.edu or 352.273.8675.
Oral TP-3654 in Patients With Intermediate-2 and High-Risk Primary or Secondary Myelofibrosis
This Phase study is an open-label trial to assess safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of TP-3654 in patients with intermediate-2 and high-risk primary or secondary Myelofibrosis. This study will enroll patients who have been previously treated and failed on a JAK inhibitor or ineligible to receive ruxolitinib or fedratinib.
Principal Investigator: Randy Brown, M.D., 859.221.6828
A Phase 2 Study of Savolitinib in Subjects with MET Amplified Colorectal Cancer
This Phase 2, open-label study is testing the orally administered cMet kinase inhibitor, Savolitinib in subjects with MET amplified adenocarcinoma of the colon and rectum. Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who have received prior anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody therapy (cetuximab or panitumumab) will be prospectively screened for MET amplification using the Guardant 360 cell free DNA assay. Patients MUST sign the screening informed consent form prior to performance of the Guardant 360, if MET amplification is detected, the patient may proceed to receive study treatment with Savolitinib.
Principal Investigator: Thomas George, M.D., 352.339.6672
featured clinical trial
The UF Department of Radiation Oncology has opened a new clinical trial aimed at testing whether the use of brain scans alone – instead of brain scans plus preventive brain radiation – affects lifespan in patients with small cell lung cancer. READ MORE