Semin Thromb Hemost 2021; 47(08): 899-906
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1729885
Review Article

The Growing Impact of Cardiovascular Oncology: Epidemiology and Pathophysiology

Antonella Tufano
1   Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University Hospital, Naples, Italy
,
Antonio Coppola
2   Hub Center for Inherited Bleeding Disorders, University Hospital, Parma, Italy
,
Maurizio Galderisi
3   Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, Federico II University Hospital, Naples, Italy
› Author Affiliations

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.



Publication History

Article published online:
12 July 2021

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