How heat waves and air pollution affect heart and lung health after breast cancer treatment
Official title: Understanding the impacts of cancer therapy, high temperature and poor air quality on heart and lung health in breast cancer survivors.
Funded at Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah · NIH-11394257 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether heat events and poor air quality make heart and lung problems more likely for people who survived breast cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Salt Lake City, United States) |
| Project start | May 10, 2024 |
| Project end | April 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $589,917 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA282698-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11394257 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Breast cancer survivors whose health records are captured in the Utah statewide databases—especially those living in areas with heat extremes or air pollution exposure—are the main focus for this project.
✕Less likely to help
People without a history of breast cancer or those living outside regions covered by the Utah datasets are unlikely to be directly included or benefit immediately.
What this research studies
Researchers will use a large Utah group of 21,835 breast cancer survivors and 65,503 similar people without cancer to study outcomes. They will link cancer treatment and medical records to local temperature and air-quality data from before and after diagnosis. The team will compare rates of cardiovascular and respiratory events to see if prolonged high temperatures or pollution increase treatment-related risks and will identify which survivors face the greatest danger.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify survivors most at risk so clinicians can offer targeted warnings, monitoring, and protective measures during heat waves and poor air-quality events.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies have linked heat waves and air pollution to heart and lung problems in the general population, but applying these links specifically to breast cancer survivors is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah
Salt Lake City, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kirchhoff, Anne C — Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah
- Study coordinator: Kirchhoff, Anne C
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.