Abstract
Progress in the treatment of cancer has significantly improved survival of oncologic
patients in recent decades. However, anticancer therapies, particularly some new,
more potent and targeted agents, are potentially cardiotoxic. As a consequence, cardiovascular
complications, including heart failure, arterial hypertension, coronary artery disease,
venous thromboembolism, peripheral vascular disease, arrhythmias, pericardial disease,
and pulmonary hypertension, as related to cancer itself or to anticancer treatments,
are increasingly observed and may adversely affect prognosis in oncologic patients.
Cardiovascular oncology is an emerging field in cardiology and internal medicine,
which is rapidly growing, dealing with the prevention, the early detection, and the
management of cardiovascular disease, in all stages of anticancer therapy and during
the survivorship period, now crucial for reducing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality
in cancer patients. In this narrative review, the existing literature regarding the
epidemiology of cardiovascular oncology, the mechanisms of cardiovascular complications
in cancer, and the pathophysiology of cardiotoxicity related to chemotherapeutic agents,
targeted therapies, immunotherapies, and radiotherapy will be analyzed and summarized.
Keywords
cancer - cardiovascular disease - cardiotoxicity - cardiovascular oncology - epidemiology
