JERUSALEM, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Israeli researchers have discovered a mechanism in the body, linking heart attacks to cancer, Tel Aviv University (TAU) and the Israel Cancer Association said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The study published in the journal Circulation found that after a myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack, small extracellular vesicles are released in large quantities by the heart into the bloodstream.

The membrane-wrapped vesicles play a major role in healing the injured heart tissue.

However, the team, led by TAU and Israel's Sheba Medical Center, found that in mice experiments, the thousands of different growth factors the vesicles contain affect the immune system and may encourage the growth of cancer cells throughout the body.

The researchers said the discovery may improve treatments for heart disease by taking into account the increased risk of cancer.

They noted that it might also be possible to find biomarkers among heart patients that indicate an increased risk of cancer. Enditem

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