Cardiotoxicity of Oncologic Treatments

The possibility of getting a cardiovascular disease or cancer increases with advancing age. At the same time, relevant improvements in cancer therapy have resulted in the improvement of quality of life and the increasement of the survival rate of such patients. As a result we have larger number of patients that experience the cardiac side effects of chemotherapy. The extent of cardiotoxicity is variable, depending on the type of drug used, combination with other drugs, prior mediastinal radiotherapy and the presence of cardiovascular risk factors or history of heart disease. Early detection of the patients proneness for developing cardiotoxicity is the key issue to decrease morbidity and mortality. It also facilitates more tailored therapeutic interventions. Therefore, the collaboration and interaction of cardiology and oncology may contribute to reducing the cardiovascular adverse effects and improving the results in the treatment of patients with cancer.