Research Questions
What are the associations between cancer and subsequent cardio-cerebrovascular, Pulmonary and Renal Diseases in the UK Biobank population?
Do lipid and glucose metabolism, trace elements, and other metabolic factors mediate these associations?
Are these mediating pathways consistent across cancer types, sex, age groups, and ethnicities?
Objectives
Quantify the risk of incident cardio-cerebrovascular, pulmonary and renal diseases among participants with cancer, adjusting for demographic, lifestyle, and clinical covariates.
Investigate the mediating roles of lipid profiles (e.g., total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides), glucose-related measures (e.g., HbA1c, fasting glucose), and trace elements (e.g., zinc, copper, selenium) in these associations.
Evaluate potential effect modification by key factors such as smoking, BMI, and comorbidity burden.
Scientific Rationale
Cancer survivors face elevated risks of cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, pulmonary and renal complications, partly due to shared risk factors, treatment-related toxicity, and systemic metabolic alterations. Lipid and glucose dysregulation, as well as imbalances in trace elements, are increasingly recognized as potential common pathways linking cancer to organ-specific diseases. However, the extent to which these factors mediate these associations remains poorly understood in large, well-characterized cohorts.
The UK Biobank offers a unique opportunity to address this knowledge gap, with its extensive phenotyping, biomarker measurements, and long-term follow-up for disease outcomes. By integrating biomarker, clinical, and outcome data, this study aims to clarify causal pathways and identify modifiable targets for prevention, thereby informing survivorship care strategies and reducing the long-term burden of multimorbidity among cancer patients.