Long-term vascular health effects of cancer and its treatment

I recently showed that survivors of most cancers have raised risks of heart/circulatory diseases. The key priorities now are to understand (i) why these risks are increased, so that we can work out how best to reduce and manage risk; and (ii) whether cancer survivors are also at increased risks of other circulation-related diseases. I will address these questions by applying cutting-edge statistical methods to analyse large-scale UK and international data sources, capturing detailed information on prescriptions, diagnoses, hospitalisations, and deaths. I will investigate the role of potentially cardio-toxic anti-cancer treatments, and changes in cardiovascular risk factors (e.g. blood pressure), in determining long-term cardiovascular risks. I will then explore whether, and through what mechanisms, having had cancer previously affects long-term risks of two key circulation-related diseases, kidney disease and dementia. These studies will help inform treatment and monitoring guidelines to improve the outlook of cancer survivors.