Medical Dialogues
  • Dermatology
Login Register
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
Login Register
  • MD Brand Connect
  • Vaccine Hub
  • MDTV
    • Breaking News
    • Medical News Today
    • Health News Today
    • Latest
    • Journal Club
    • Medico Legal Update
    • Latest Webinars
    • MD Shorts
    • Health Dialogues
  • Fact Check
  • Health Dialogues
Medical Dialogues
  • Medical News & Guidelines
      • Anesthesiology
      • Cardiology and CTVS
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diabetes and Endocrinology
      • ENT
      • Gastroenterology
      • Medicine
      • Nephrology
      • Neurology
      • Obstretics-Gynaecology
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopaedics
      • Pediatrics-Neonatology
      • Psychiatry
      • Pulmonology
      • Radiology
      • Surgery
      • Urology
      • Laboratory Medicine
      • Diet
      • Nursing
      • Paramedical
      • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
      • Doctor News
      • Government Policies
      • Hospital & Diagnostics
      • International Health News
      • Medical Organization News
      • Medico Legal News
      • NBE News
      • NMC News
  • Fact Check
      • Bone Health Fact Check
      • Brain Health Fact Check
      • Cancer Related Fact Check
      • Child Care Fact Check
      • Dental and oral health fact check
      • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
      • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
      • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
      • Fitness fact check
      • Gut health fact check
      • Heart health fact check
      • Kidney health fact check
      • Medical education fact check
      • Men's health fact check
      • Respiratory fact check
      • Skin and hair care fact check
      • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
      • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
    • Homeopathy
    • Siddha
    • Unani
    • Yoga
  • State News
      • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
      • Andhra Pradesh
      • Arunachal Pradesh
      • Assam
      • Bihar
      • Chandigarh
      • Chattisgarh
      • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
      • Daman and Diu
      • Delhi
      • Goa
      • Gujarat
      • Haryana
      • Himachal Pradesh
      • Jammu & Kashmir
      • Jharkhand
      • Karnataka
      • Kerala
      • Ladakh
      • Lakshadweep
      • Madhya Pradesh
      • Maharashtra
      • Manipur
      • Meghalaya
      • Mizoram
      • Nagaland
      • Odisha
      • Puducherry
      • Punjab
      • Rajasthan
      • Sikkim
      • Tamil Nadu
      • Telangana
      • Tripura
      • Uttar Pradesh
      • Uttrakhand
      • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
      • Ayush Education News
      • Dentistry Education News
      • Medical Admission News
      • Medical Colleges News
      • Medical Courses News
      • Medical Universities News
      • Nursing education News
      • Paramedical Education News
      • Study Abroad
  • Industry
      • Health Investment News
      • Health Startup News
      • Medical Devices News
      • Pharma News
      • Pharmacy Education News
      • Industry Perspective
  • MDTV
      • Health Dialogues MDTV
      • Health News today MDTV
      • Latest Videos MDTV
      • Latest Webinars MDTV
      • MD shorts MDTV
      • Medical News Today MDTV
      • Medico Legal Update MDTV
      • Top Videos MDTV
      • Health Perspectives MDTV
      • Journal Club MDTV
      • Medical Dialogues Show
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
LoginRegister
Medical Dialogues
LoginRegister
  • Home
  • Medical news & Guidelines
    • Anesthesiology
    • Cardiology and CTVS
    • Critical Care
    • Dentistry
    • Dermatology
    • Diabetes and Endocrinology
    • ENT
    • Gastroenterology
    • Medicine
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Obstretics-Gynaecology
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Orthopaedics
    • Pediatrics-Neonatology
    • Psychiatry
    • Pulmonology
    • Radiology
    • Surgery
    • Urology
    • Laboratory Medicine
    • Diet
    • Nursing
    • Paramedical
    • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
    • Doctor News
    • Government Policies
    • Hospital & Diagnostics
    • International Health News
    • Medical Organization News
    • Medico Legal News
    • NBE News
    • NMC News
  • Fact Check
    • Bone Health Fact Check
    • Brain Health Fact Check
    • Cancer Related Fact Check
    • Child Care Fact Check
    • Dental and oral health fact check
    • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
    • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
    • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
    • Fitness fact check
    • Gut health fact check
    • Heart health fact check
    • Kidney health fact check
    • Medical education fact check
    • Men's health fact check
    • Respiratory fact check
    • Skin and hair care fact check
    • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
    • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
      • Ayurveda Giuidelines
      • Ayurveda News
    • Homeopathy
      • Homeopathy Guidelines
      • Homeopathy News
    • Siddha
      • Siddha Guidelines
      • Siddha News
    • Unani
      • Unani Guidelines
      • Unani News
    • Yoga
      • Yoga Guidelines
      • Yoga News
  • State News
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
    • Andhra Pradesh
    • Arunachal Pradesh
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chandigarh
    • Chattisgarh
    • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
    • Daman and Diu
    • Delhi
    • Goa
    • Gujarat
    • Haryana
    • Himachal Pradesh
    • Jammu & Kashmir
    • Jharkhand
    • Karnataka
    • Kerala
    • Ladakh
    • Lakshadweep
    • Madhya Pradesh
    • Maharashtra
    • Manipur
    • Meghalaya
    • Mizoram
    • Nagaland
    • Odisha
    • Puducherry
    • Punjab
    • Rajasthan
    • Sikkim
    • Tamil Nadu
    • Telangana
    • Tripura
    • Uttar Pradesh
    • Uttrakhand
    • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
    • Ayush Education News
    • Dentistry Education News
    • Medical Admission News
    • Medical Colleges News
    • Medical Courses News
    • Medical Universities News
    • Nursing education News
    • Paramedical Education News
    • Study Abroad
  • Industry
    • Health Investment News
    • Health Startup News
    • Medical Devices News
    • Pharma News
      • CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation) News
    • Pharmacy Education News
    • Industry Perspective
  • Home
  • Cardiology-CTVS
  • Cardiology & CTVS News
  • Newborns with heart...

Newborns with heart defects may face higher risk of developing childhood cancer, reports research

Dr. Kamal Kant KohliWritten by Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2025-03-21T08:45:18+05:30  |  Updated On 21 March 2025 9:57 AM IST
Newborns with heart defects may face higher risk of developing childhood cancer, reports research
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Email

Being born with a heart defect may be associated with an increased cancer risk for babies and their moms, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association’s flagship journal Circulation.

According to the American Heart Association, the most common birth defects in the U.S. are forms of congenital heart defects (CHD). They range from structural abnormalities, such as openings between the heart’s chambers, to severe malformations, such as the absence of heart chambers or valves. In the U.S., about 12 infants in 1,000 births have a congenital heart defect, according to the Association’s 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics. While numerous medical advances have enabled children with heart defects to survive longer than they used to, some research suggests they may be at higher risk for developing other conditions including cancer.

Researchers analyzed health information about more than 3.5 million live births from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database from 2005 to 2019. They followed all newborns and mothers for cancer diagnoses for an average of 10 years.

“Our research highlights the importance of maternal factors and genetic traits and understanding how they may be connected,” said study author June Huh, M.D., Ph.D., professor of cardiology in the department of pediatrics at the Heart Vascular Stroke Institute, Samsung Medical Center at Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine in Seoul, Korea.

The findings show that care for congenital heart defects may benefit from including different health care professionals to provide well-rounded care for families, he said.

The analysis found:

  • Overall, the incidence of cancer was 66% higher in newborns with congenital heart defects compared to those born without a heart defect.
  • Specifically, compared to newborns without congenital heart defects, cancer risk was more than double in newborns with congenital defects that involved blood vessels or heart valves and two times higher among those with complex congenital heart disease.
  • The most common types of cancers that developed among all of the children, both with and without congenital heart defects, were leukemia (21%) and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (11%).
  • Mothers who gave birth to newborns with congenital heart defects were 17% more likely to be diagnosed with cancer in the 10-year follow-up period compared to mothers who gave birth to newborns without a congenital heart defect.

Researchers have yet to determine why having a baby with a congenital heart defect is associated with a higher risk for cancer in mothers. Potential factors include the mother’s genetic predisposition or a mutation known to contribute to cancer and congenital heart defect risks in newborns.

“The genetic variants inherited from the mother may provide the necessary environment for cancer to develop in congenital heart defect patients, highlighting a possible shared genetic pathway underlying both conditions,” Huh said.

American Heart Association volunteer expert Keila N. Lopez, M.D., M.P.H., said the study’s finding of a cancer association among mothers of infants with congenital heart defects was surprising.

“This finding needs to be further explored to understand if there are environmental factors affecting genes (epigenetics) or stress-related changes linking congenital heart defects with maternal cancer risk,” said Lopez, chair of the Association’s Young Hearts Congenital Cardiac Defects Committee and an associate professor of pediatric cardiology at Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “There is some data that suggests stress is related to cancer risk, and having a child with a congenital heart defect can be very stressful. So having studies that investigate and demonstrate all the links between cancer and congenital heart defects will help us understand lifelong risks of not only heart defects but also the development of cancer within families.”

The study also emphasizes the importance of follow-up care with a pediatric cardiologist and primary care physicians and the need for lifelong care for ongoing surveillance of those born with congenital heart defects, Lopez said.

Study limitations include the possibility that unknown factors may have biased study results, and some analyses lacked power due to a small number of specific types of congenital heart defects. While the study was from data for people in Korea, Huh said the findings may apply to other populations.

Study details, background and design:

  • Researchers reviewed health information for more than 3.5 million babies in Korea born with and without congenital heart disease (51.5% boys, 48.5% girls). Of the live births, 72,205 newborns had a congenital heart defect. Mothers (19,310) who had a history of cancer were excluded from the analysis.
  • The analysis of the nationwide study was conducted using data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2019. Called K-NHIS data, the information included individual-level demographics, and all records of diagnosis and health care (including office visits, prescriptions and medical procedures), as well as provided inpatient, outpatient and emergency department visits.
  • For a cancer diagnosis to be counted in this study, the same International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD-10) cancer code had to appear at least three times within a year in the medical records or result in at least one inpatient hospitalization.
  • The analysis was performed in 2024.

Reference:

Risk of Cancer in Newborns With Congenital Heart Disease and Their Mothers: A Nationwide Cohort Study, Circulation (2025). DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.124.071811.

CirculationcancerAmerican Heart Association.congenital heart defectscongenital heart disease
Source : Circulation
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

Show Full Article
Next Story

Editorial

National Consensus 2025 on Role of Bisoprolol Across CV Continuum in Women: Top 10 Takeaways

National Consensus 2025 on Role of Bisoprolol Across CV Continuum in Women: Top 10 Takeaways

Relevance of Pioglitazone in Indian T2DM Care Continuum

Relevance of Pioglitazone in Indian T2DM Care Continuum

Azmarda Outperforms Generic Sacubitril/Valsartan in HFrEF Management, says new study

Azmarda Outperforms Generic Sacubitril/Valsartan in HFrEF Management, says new study

First Indian Consensus on Managing Refractory Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Recommends Vonoprazan

First Indian Consensus on Managing Refractory Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Recommends Vonoprazan

Re-visiting the Role of Pneumococcal Vaccination in Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases

Re-visiting the Role of Pneumococcal Vaccination in Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases

View All

Journal Club Today

Study Reveals Why Your Immune System Works Better in Daylight

Study Reveals Why Your Immune System Works Better in Daylight

View All

Health News Today

Health Bulletin 29/May/2025

Health Bulletin 29/May/2025

View All
© 2022 All Rights Reserved.
Powered By: Hocalwire
X
We use cookies for analytics, advertising and to improve our site. You agree to our use of cookies by continuing to use our site. To know more, see our Cookie Policy and Cookie Settings.Ok