Heart risk tools predict certain cancers about as well as they predict heart disease

Risk calculators that doctors use to estimate a person's risk of a heart attack or stroke work about as well for predicting certain cancers, according to a new study by UCL (University College London) researchers.

The tools, used widely by primary care physicians and hospitals in the U.K., U.S. and Europe, estimate a person's percentage risk of having a heart attack or stroke over 10 years based on factors such as age, BMI and smoking status—factors also linked to a higher risk of cancer. ...