Cancer survivors treated with anthracyclines and chest radiotherapy have a higher risk of late cardiovascular toxicity, requiring long-term surveillance and risk stratification.
Continuous, long-term cardiovascular surveillance is critical for cancer survivors to prevent and manage late-onset cardiotoxicity, in accordance with current cardio-oncology guidelines.
During the last decades, progress in the treatment of oncological diseases has led to an increase in the survival of cancer patients: cancer survivors (CS). Thus, the incidence of CS has increased enormously, in both adult CS and childhood and adolescent CS. Unfortunately, CS treated with anthracyclines, chest radiotherapy (RT) and other potentially cardiotoxic drugs have a higher risk of cardiovascular (CV) toxicity: heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), valve diseases, coronary artery diseases, vascular diseases and pericardial diseases. In fact, chest irradiation can cause coronary artery diseases that can be latent until at least 10 years after exposure; also, valvular heart diseases can appear after >20 years following irradiation; heart failure may appear later, several years after anticancer drugs or RT. Therefore, it is very important to stratify the CV risk of cancer patients at the end of cardiotoxic drugs, to plan the most appropriate long-term surveillance program, in accordance with 2022 ESC Guidelines on Cardio-Oncology, to prevent late cardiovascular complications. Monitoring of cancer patients must not stop during anticancer treatment but it must continue afterwards, depending on the patient's CV risk. CV toxicity risk should be reassessed 5 years after therapy to organize long-term follow-up. Considering late cardiotoxicity in CS, our review aims to evaluate the incidence of cardiovascular diseases in CS, their mechanisms, surveillance protocols, preventive strategies, diagnosis and treatment.
Lisi et al. (2024) conducted a review in Cardiovascular diseases in cancer survivors. Cardiotoxic anticancer therapy (anthracyclines, chest radiotherapy) was evaluated. Cancer survivors treated with anthracyclines and chest radiotherapy have a higher risk of late cardiovascular toxicity, requiring long-term surveillance and risk stratification.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: