Cardiovascular complications of cancer therapy: incidence, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management.
Cancer treatment today employs a combination of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery to prolong life and provide cure. However, many of these treatments can cause cardiovascular complications such as heart failure, myocardial ischemia/infarction, hypertension, thromboembolism, and arrhythmias. In this article we review the incidence of cardiotoxicity caused by commonly used chemotherapeutic agents as well as discuss the pathogenesis, diagnosis, management, and prevention of these cardiovascular side effects. Cardiotoxicity related to anticancer treatment is important to recognize as it may have a significant impact on the overall prognosis and survival of cancer patients, and it is likely to remain a significant challenge for both cardiologists and oncologists in the future due to an increasing aging population of patients with cancer and the introduction of many new cancer therapies.
Yeh
Edward T H
ET
Department of Cardiology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA. etyeh@mdanderson.org
Bickford
Courtney L
CL
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents