Cancer survivorship at heart: a multidisciplinary cardio-oncology roadmap for healthcare professionals

Front Cardiovasc Med. 2023 Sep 15:10:1223660. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2023.1223660. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

In cancer, a patient is considered a survivor from the time of initial diagnosis until the end of life. With improvements in early diagnosis and treatment, the number of cancer survivors (CS) has grown considerably and includes: (1) Patients cured and free from cancer who may be at risk of late-onset cancer therapy-related cardiovascular toxicity (CTR-CVT); (2) Patients with long-term control of not-curable cancers in whom CTR-CVT may need to be addressed. This paper highlights the importance of the cancer care continuum, of a patient-centered approach and of a prevention-oriented policy. The ultimate goal is a personalized care of CS, achievable only through a multidisciplinary-guided survivorship care plan, one that replaces the fragmented management of current healthcare systems. Collaboration between oncologists and cardiologists is the pillar of a framework in which primary care providers and other specialists must be engaged and in which familial, social and environmental factors are also taken into account.

Keywords: cancer survivors (CSs); cancer therapy-related cardiovascular toxicities (CTR-CVT); cardiovascular disease (CVD); cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF); reverse cardio-oncology; survivorship care.

Publication types

  • Review