Cardio-oncology: Gaps in Knowledge, Goals, Advances, and Educational Efforts

Abstract

Over the past 20 years, cancer treatments have become more effective, leading to significant improvements in survival rates. However, anticancer drugs can have several possible cardiovascular side effects; in particular, the development of left ventricular dysfunction with chemoradiation therapy can negatively affect patients' cardiac outcome, and can limit anticancer treatments. This is an ongoing issue that will continue to persist, due to the ongoing development of new antitumor agents with potential cardiotoxic effects, and the prolonged life expectancy of long-term cancer survivors. Thus, the need for cooperation between oncologists and cardiologists in the management of cancer patients has led to the development of a new medical discipline-cardio-oncology—where the issue of cardiotoxicity is a topic of intense interest and research. However, several issues remain—the proper definition and diagnosis of cardiotoxicity, as well as monitoring and treatment strategies. In this review, the current advances in cardio-oncology, limitations of current approaches, and future research fields will be discussed.

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