Management Of Cardiac Disease In Cancer Patients Throughout Oncological Treatment

Abstract

Cancer and cardiovascular (CV) disease are the most prevalent diseases in the developed world. 
Evidence increasingly shows that these conditions are interlinked through common risk factors, 
coincident in an ageing population, and are connected biologically through some deleterious effects 
of anticancer treatment on CV health. Anticancer therapies can cause a wide spectrum of short- and 
long-term cardiotoxic effects. An explosion of novel cancer therapies has revolutionised this field 
and dramatically altered cancer prognosis. Nevertheless, these new therapies have introduced 
unexpected CV complications beyond heart failure. Common CV toxicities related to cancer therapy 
are defined, along with suggested strategies for prevention, detection and treatment. This ESMO 
consensus article proposes to define CV toxicities related to cancer or its therapies and provide 
guidance regarding prevention, screening, monitoring and treatment of CV toxicity. The majority of 
anticancer therapies are associated with some CV toxicity, ranging from asymptomatic and transient 
to more clinically significant and long-lasting cardiac events