Project: “Cancer Therapy-Related Clonal Hematopoiesis as a Driver of Accelerated Atherosclerosis”

Acronym	CHEMICAL (Reference Number: JTC-2019_046)
Duration	01/05/2020 - 30/04/2023
Project Topic	Improvements in early cancer detection and treatment have drastically reduced cancer mortality, resulting in a growing population of cancer survivors. However, cancer survivorship is accompanied by a substantial increase in cardiovascular risk and mortality. Therefore, there is a great need to understand the specific mechanisms underlying the long-term cardiovascular side-effects of cancer therapies. Recent studies have shown that some acquired mutations in the hematopoietic system provide a competitive advantage that leads to the expansion of the mutant cell among the blood cell population. Unexpectedly, this phenomenon, called clonal hematopoiesis, has emerged as a new risk factor for heart disease. Furthermore, recent evidence suggest that the presence of certain clonal hematopoiesis-related mutations in blood cells is particularly frequent in survivors of solid cancers treated with cytotoxic therapies. Our collaborative project will test the hypothesis that acquired mutations that drive clonal hematopoiesis accelerate the development of atherosclerosis and therefore contribute to the increased cardiovascular risk observed in cancer patients and survivors. To test this novel hypothesis, we propose to use a multidisciplinary approach that combines experimental atherosclerosis studies in innovative animal models and DNA sequencing studies in cancer survivors.
Network	ERA-CVD
Call	ERA-CVD Joint Transnational Call 2019

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
1	Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III	Coordinator	Spain
2	INSERM	Partner	France
3	IRCCS Istituto Clinico Humanitas	Partner	Italy