Journal: npj aging
This population-based cohort study used UK Biobank data to examine how multiple measures of aging relate to cancer risk and whether cardiovascular health modifies this risk.
Four aging measures were evaluated:
- Klemera–Doubal method (KDM) biological age
- PhenoAge
- Leukocyte telomere length
- Chronological age
Over a median 13.5 years of follow-up, all four aging measures were significantly associated with increased overall cancer incidence. After false discovery rate correction, biological aging was significantly associated with higher risk of seven site-specific cancers:
- Esophageal
- Colorectal
- Pancreatic
- Skin
- Kidney
- Urinary tract cancers
- Lymphoma
The study also assessed Life’s Essential 8 (LE8), a composite metric of cardiovascular health. A significant interaction was found between LE8 and PhenoAge for lung cancer risk, indicating that the impact of biological aging on lung cancer varies by LE8 status.
Joint analyses showed that higher LE8 scores were associated with reduced overall cancer risk among people with evidence of biological aging. Consistent risk reductions with better LE8 status were also seen for:
- Esophageal cancer
- Gastric cancer
- Breast cancer
- Uterine cancer
In summary, biological aging is linked to increased cancer risk across multiple sites, and better cardiovascular health (higher LE8 score) appears to attenuate this risk, supporting lifestyle and cardiovascular risk-factor optimization as a cancer-prevention strategy in aging populations.