Tag Archives: cardiotoxicity

Professor Christopher Miller HFpEF on the rise: navigating the heterogeneity In an engaging opening talk, Professor Christopher Miller (University of Manchester) revealed heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) as the dominant form of heart failure (HF), rising by 10% every decade. Over 70% of patients with HF have HFpEF, most of whom are over 65 years of age experiencing complex comorbidities. The diagnostic challenges in heterogeneous groups were discussed against the background of the diagnostic criteria provided by European Society of Cardiology (ESC)1 as some patients with clinical signs of HFpEF show normal

Introduction Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionised outcomes in a number of advanced cancers. The median life-expectancy for patients with metastatic melanoma was nine months prior to the introduction of ICIs in 2011.1 One-year survival is now over 70%, and over half of patients are still alive at three years,2 with multiple phase II and III trials demonstrating durable responses in a range of tumour types.3 ICIs are antibodies that block the cytotoxic T-cell regulators lymphocyte-associated protein-4 (CTLA-4; ipilimumab), programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1; nivolumab, pembrolizumab and cemiplimab) or the PD-1 ligand (ate

As discussed by Findlay and colleagues, ICI-related myocarditis is rare but potentially fatal. Its true incidence remains unknown but data from a single cancer registry study from the USA suggests a prevalence of 1.14% with fatality rates as high as 50%.4,5 Data suggest that myocarditis is an early ICI-toxicity, typically seen within the first three months of starting treatment, and is more common in patients treated with combination anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD1 blockade. The prevalence of myocarditis in patients treated with chemotherapy and anti-PD1 or tyrosine kinase Inhibitors (TKI) and anti-PD1 combinations has not been described. Identifyin

Cardiotoxicity and adjuvant anthracycline in early breast cancer Anthracycline-based polychemotherapy regimens for early-stage breast cancer have demonstrated a superior disease-free and overall survival in comparison to non-anthracycline based regimens.6 The increasing usage and efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy is a significant factor contributing to the fall in mortality from breast cancer.6-9 However, the rising numbers of patients treated with anthracyclines in the adjuvant setting could mean that many women have sustained subclinical cardiac damage that is not yet clinically apparent. A recent analysis has attempted to define the exten

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