Echocardiographic evaluation of cardiac function after cancer chemotherapy

Abstract

Progress in cancer therapy has led to improved prognosis of patients with cancer and thus to a continuous rise of cancer survivors. However, it has simultaneously increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality rates due to direct and/or indirect side effects of anticancer treatment. Similar to the rapid rise of patients with adult congenital disease, the number of patients suffering or at risk of cardiotoxicity has been steeply increasing and getting an emerging issue. Among the many facets of chemotherapy-induced cardiovascular toxicity, this review attempts to summarize echocardiographic evaluation of cardiac function after cancer chemotherapy by reviewing the definition, risk factors, brief history, limitation of left ventricular ejection fraction and myocardial strain imaging, as well as the limitations of this technique.

Keywords: Anthracycline; Cancer therapy-related cardiac dysfunction; Cardiotoxicity; Ejection fraction; Myocardial strain; Trastuzumab.