Metabolic Syndrome and Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases in Female Breast Cancer Survivors

Abstract

Cancer represents the second main cause of death worldwide, behind only cardiovascular diseases (CVD). 1 Projections for 2030 expect around 24 million cases of cancer and 14.6 million deaths. 2 This disease represents a global health challenge that has been increasing in low-and middle-income countries with the globalization of the economy and lifestyles. 3 Among various neoplasm types, breast cancer (BC) is the one that affects women the most each year, being responsible for 23% (1 380 000) of all new cancer cases and 14% (458 400) of all deaths due to cancer. 4 The number of long-term cancer survivors is increasing. A better organization of cancer care, more effective treatment options, and evidence-based tumor-specific protocols are factors that have contributed to this increase. [5][6][7] However, 2 out of 3 cancer survivors are prone to suffering from complications in the long term. 8 A wide spectrum of late adverse effects such as CVD, diabetes, dyslipidemia, arterial hypertension, osteoporosis, and metabolic syndrome (MS) components are likely to develop among cancer survivors. For this reason, it is important to design appropriate health management strategies for these patients. 7,[9][10]