Differential associations of cardiorenal-inflammatory markers with cardiac and cancer mortality in cancer survivors
Authors' conclusion
In cancer survivors, increased cardiac stress was more strongly associated with cardiac mortality whereas systemic inflammation was more strongly associated with cancer mortality. Renal dysfunction was similarly associated with both cardiac and cancer mortality.
Study context
- Population
- U.S. cancer survivors aged ≥ 20 years from the NHANES cohort (1999–2004), with follow-up through 2019mean age: 67.5 years, 52.1% women, analyses biomarker-specific (participants with missing values for a given biomarker excluded from that analysis)
- Participants
- 1,384 survivors
- Exposure
- Associations of cardiorenal-inflammatory biomarkers (NT-proBNP, high-sensitivity troponin-T (hs-TnT), high-sensitivity troponin I (hs-TnI), urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), fractional excretion of albumin (FEalb), C-reactive protein (CRP)) with cardiac vs. cancer mortality
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Cardiac and cancer deaths · median [P25-P75] follow-up of 11.8 [5.1-16.8] years
Cardiac deaths
199
14.4%
Cancer deaths
259
18.7%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Association of biomarkers with cardiac and cancer mortality (multivariable models)
- All biomarkers except CRP significantly associated with cardiac mortality
- P ≤ 0.001 for all
- All biomarkers except cardiac troponins significantly associated with cancer mortality
- P ≤ 0.001 for all
Formal comparison of associations with cardiac vs. cancer mortality
- Cardiac troponins and NT-proBNP stronger associations with cardiac mortality than cancer mortality
- P for difference ≤ 0.006
- CRP stronger associations with cancer mortality than cardiac mortality
- P for difference < 0.001
- UACR and FEalb similarly associated with both cardiac and cancer mortality
- P for difference > 0.7
Original publication
Differential associations of cardiorenal-inflammatory markers with cardiac and cancer mortality in cancer survivors. Eur Heart J Qual Care Clin Outcomes. Published 13 November 2025. doi:10.
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it