Cardiovascular Toxicity of Common Chemotherapy Drugs Used to Treat Breast Cancer: An Overview

Treatment of breast cancer often exposes patients to many different drugs. Some of these drugs have toxic effects involving the cardiovascular system. This review provides an overview of the drugs most commonly used to treat breast cancer and their potential adverse impact on the cardiovascular system

Cardiovascular Toxicity of Common Chemotherapy Drugs Used to Treat Breast Cancer: An Overview

Treatment of breast cancer often exposes patients to many different drugs. Some of these drugs have toxic effects involving the cardiovascular system. This review provides an overview of the drugs most commonly used to treat breast cancer and their potential adverse impact on the cardiovascular system

Cardio-Oncology: Success Breeds New Challenges, Opportunities

N/

Splenic marginal zone lymphoma involving the breast: lessons in patient-centered care

Splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) is a rare, indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that commonly involves the spleen, bone marrow, and blood. This letter describes a 78-year-old woman with long-standing SMZL presenting with a rare case of breast involvement. Treatment options are not well researched in older adults who have limited life expectancy because of multiple comorbidities. The complex decision-making process included exploring the woman’s life circumstances and behaviors. The only therapeutic option available was radiation therapy, which would not reduce mortality but might reduce disease-specific morbidity. Quality of life may be compromised because of side effects from radiation therapy. This case describes additional challenges of decision-making in the context of cognitive impairment

Diagnosis of Chemotherapy-Induced Cardiotoxicity

Cardiotoxicity is a rising issue connected to use of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in the treatment of neoplastic diseases. Early diagnosis during follow-up is of paramount importance, and careful surveillance is recommended. Evaluation of left ventricular ejection fraction by echocardiography and nuclear medicine techniques is widely used in clinical practice; however, their sensitivity in detecting early cardiac damage is low. New instruments like speckle-tracking imaging, cardiac magnetic resonance and cardiac circulating biomarkers are available to clinicians to best evaluate the onset and progression of cardiotoxic effects, improving the therapeutic management and final outcome for the patient

Diagnosis of Chemotherapy-Induced Cardiotoxicity

Cardiotoxicity is a rising issue connected to use of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in the treatment of neoplastic diseases. Early diagnosis during follow-up is of paramount importance, and careful surveillance is recommended. Evaluation of left ventricular ejection fraction by echocardiography and nuclear medicine techniques is widely used in clinical practice; however, their sensitivity in detecting early cardiac damage is low. New instruments like speckle-tracking imaging, cardiac magnetic resonance and cardiac circulating biomarkers are available to clinicians to best evaluate the onset and progression of cardiotoxic effects, improving the therapeutic management and final outcome for the patient

Multimodality imaging in cardiooncology

Cardiotoxicity represents a rising problem influencing prognosis and quality of life of chemotherapy-treated patients. Anthracyclines and trastuzumab are the drugs most commonly associated with development of a cardiotoxic effect. Heart failure, myocardial ischemia, hypertension, myocarditis, and thrombosis are typical manifestation of cardiotoxicity by chemotherapeutic agents. Diagnosis and monitoring of cardiac side-effects of cancer treatment is of paramount importance. Echocardiography and nuclear medicine methods are widely used in clinical practice and left ventricular ejection fraction is the most important parameter to asses myocardial damage secondary to chemotherapy. However, left ventricular ejection decrease is a delayed phenomenon, occurring after a long stage of silent myocardial damage that classic imaging methods are not able to detect. New imaging techniques including three-dimensional echocardiography, speckle tracking echocardiography, and cardiac magnetic resonance have demonstrated high sensitivity in detecting the earliest alteration of left ventricular function associated with future development of chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy. Early diagnosis of cardiac involvement in cancer patients can allow for timely and adequate treatment management and the introduction of cardioprotective strategies

Multimodality Imaging in Cardiooncology

Cardiotoxicity represents a rising problem influencing prognosis and quality of life of chemotherapy-treated patients. Anthracyclines and trastuzumab are the drugs most commonly associated with development of a cardiotoxic effect. Heart failure, myocardial ischemia, hypertension, myocarditis, and thrombosis are typical manifestation of cardiotoxicity by chemotherapeutic agents. Diagnosis and monitoring of cardiac side-effects of cancer treatment is of paramount importance. Echocardiography and nuclear medicine methods are widely used in clinical practice and left ventricular ejection fraction is the most important parameter to asses myocardial damage secondary to chemotherapy. However, left ventricular ejection decrease is a delayed phenomenon, occurring after a long stage of silent myocardial damage that classic imaging methods are not able to detect. New imaging techniques including three-dimensional echocardiography, speckle tracking echocardiography, and cardiac magnetic resonance have demonstrated high sensitivity in detecting the earliest alteration of left ventricular function associated with future development of chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy. Early diagnosis of cardiac involvement in cancer patients can allow for timely and adequate treatment management and the introduction of cardioprotective strategies