Exploring the causal intersection of cancer and cardiovascular disease
Lead Institution:
Heidelberg University Hospital
Principal investigator:
Dr Dominique Scherer
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About
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer are the top causes of death in Western countries. Cancer and CVD patients share risk factors and have high rates of similar secondary conditions. However, the influence of shared genetics and biology in both types of disease remains incompletely understood. This project aims to investigate the causal relationship between cancer and cardiovascular disease. We propose to combine multiple approaches including evaluation of clinical characteristics of patients and statistical genetics methods to test for causal associations between cancer and CVD. We also plan to use computational tools to define subgroups of CVD patients where disease is linked to cancer. We expect this project to take 24 months. The first 6 months will be used for data acclimation, selection of phenotypes, and quality control of genetic data. The following year will be used for conducting the remainder of the study, and the last 6 months for preparing results for publication. This project is consistent with the UK Biobanks's purpose, as understanding the shared biology between cancer and cardiovascular disease has the potential to provide new avenues for prevention and treatment for both.