The field of cardio-oncology is an expanding area of medical practice that identifies, prevents and treats the cardiovascular complications related to cancer therapy. It is gaining increasing importance due to the growing spectrum and incidence of cancer therapies in use that have the potential to cause a broad range of acute and late cardiac side-effects. Cancer survivors may be at risk of adverse effects due to radiotherapy, systemic chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted agents, either alone or in combination.
Despite the existence of a number of clinical practice guidelines in this area, there is the need to better understand how to optimally select appropriate cancer treatments, identify at-risk patient groups, effectively manage concurrent cardiovascular co-morbidity and also initiate successful interventions.
Internationally and across Australia, we are observing the growth of dedicated cardio-oncology services which seek to facilitate more rapid assessment and management for relevant patients. Aspects of how to deliver a successful cardio-oncology service will be addressed.
There is great opportunity for education and collaborative cardio-oncology research in cancer survivors at both an individual and population-based level.
A greater awareness on the part of the health professional community spanning specialist and primary care providers, as well as consumers regarding their heart health is needed.