Is it time for 'cardio-oncology'?

Right now, cardiologists and oncologists must work together to protect some classes of chemotherapy patients from heart damage. To avoid such damage, some experts are suggesting that the medical profession develop a new approach dubbed "cardio-oncology."

A group of Italian researchers recently studied this problem when they reviewed scientific literature describing the potentially toxic effects of chemotherapy drugs on the cardiovascular system. After conducting their review, the researchers called for physicians to look at patients' cardiovascular risk before undergoing chemotherapy.

Their study also calls for new chemotherapy guidelines that recognize the possibility of impact on the cardiovascular system, as well as creating a new interdisciplinary field of cardio-oncology.

The article summarizing their findings appears this month in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

To learn more about the study:
- read this HealthDay News piece

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