ASSIGN score and cancer risk in the Scottish Heart Health Extended Cohort (SHHEC) study

Abstract

Abstract Background The aim of this work was to determine whether the ASSIGN cardiovascular disease (CVD) score, a 10-year CVD risk score used in primary care in Scotland, could additionally detect cancer risk. Methods 18,107 participants were recruited to the Scottish Heart Health Extended Cohort (SHHEC) study between 1982 and 1995. Information on health and lifestyle were collected, along with blood and urine, and participants were followed up via record linkage to 2017. Cox proportional hazards were used to estimate HRs (95% CIs) for time to cancer diagnosis. Results A total of 5046 cases of cancer were reported during the follow up period. ASSIGN was significantly associated with a diagnosis of cancer, with a 2.3–3.4% increase in risk of cancer per 1-point increase of ASSIGN. The components of ASSIGN predominantly associated with the risk of cancer were age (HR 1.52; 95% CI 1.48–1.56, cholesterol level (HR 1.11; 95% CI 1.08–1.13), diabetes status (HR 1.24; 95% CI 1.01–1.53), and systolic blood pressure (HR 1.16; 95% CI 1.13–1.19). Conclusion ASSIGN could be used not only to predict CVD, but also to predict cancer risk in patients. This needs to be validated in further cohorts.