April 20, 2026Journal of the American College of Cardiology
Cardiovascular Complications of Cancer Therapy
Key result
Cancer therapy induces myocardial damage, endothelial dysfunction, and altered conduction, requiring close cardio-oncology collaboration.
Why the study?
Cancer therapy can cause cardiovascular complications, requiring practicing cardiologists to be knowledgeable about the diagnosis, prevention, and management of therapy-induced cardiomyopathy and ischemia.
What are the cardiovascular complications of cancer therapy, specifically cardiomyopathy and ischemia, and how should they be managed?
Key Points
- To address cardiovascular complications stemming from cancer therapy and emphasize the need for cardiology involvement in cancer care.
- Review based on MEDLINE search of published data and clinical guidelines.
- Emphasizes best practices from major cancer centers.
- Cancer therapy can lead to myocardial damage and endothelial dysfunction.
- Increased need for cardiovascular expertise to manage and prevent complications in cancer survivors.
- Highlights the importance of collaboration between cardiologists and cancer specialists.
Structured PICO
What are the cardiovascular complications of cancer therapy, specifically cardiomyopathy and ischemia, and how should they be managed?
P
Population
Cancer patients receiving cancer therapy
I
Intervention
Cancer therapy
O
Outcome
Cardiovascular complications (cardiomyopathy and ischemia)
Cardiologists must be knowledgeable about the diagnosis, prevention, and management of cancer therapy-induced cardiovascular complications to improve outcomes in the growing population of cancer survivors.
Discussion
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Key expert perspectives
Captured external expert commentary on this paper, strongest first. Original sources are linked where available.
“As soon as you start feeling like you're getting familiar with one drug, there's a whole new class of drugs coming out that have their own potential impact. As much as we have made progress with cardio-oncology, we are still really in a very early phase of the specialty, and there are probably still more questions than answers.”
“As the ways in which we treat cancer change, the toxicity of cancer drugs also changes. Now, there's really a need for cardiology specialists who understand cancer, its treatments and potential toxicities.”
“Initial cardio-oncology efforts focused on increasing cardiotoxicity awareness. Now, we are working toward identifying at-risk patients earlier – sometimes, shortly after diagnosis – so they can avoid heart failure and other complications.”
Implication
Supports multidisciplinary cardio-oncology care for treatment toxicities; leaves open optimal prevention protocols in survivors.
Cite This Study
Chang et al. (2017) conducted a review in Cancer therapy-induced cardiovascular complications. Cancer therapy was evaluated. Cancer therapy can cause myocardial damage, induce endothelial dysfunction, and alter cardiac conduction, requiring close collaboration between cardiologists and cancer specialists.