Progress in prevention and treatment of myocardial injury induced by cancer therapy

OBJECTIVE: This article aims to present a brief profile of the advances in prevention and treatment of myocardial injury in cancer therapy based on relevant literature or reports. DATA SOURCES: The data cited in this review were obtained from articles indexed in PubMed and China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI) up to June 2019. STUDY SELECTION: Articles were selected with the following keywords “Anti-cancer therapy,” “Myocardial injury,” “Breast cancer,” “Echocardiography,” and “Chemotherapy.” RESULTS: Due to the rapid development of novel cancer therapeutic approaches, the life expectancy of tumor patients has been prolonged continuously. Meanwhile, a large number of studies have found that among patients benefiting from precise management, some medications have exerted direct or indirect side effects on the cardiovascular system, leading to the occurrence of myocardial injury. Because there are many common risk factors between breast cancer and cardiovascular disease, and there is a special anatomical position between breast and heart, the cardiology related to breast cancer patients is relatively unique in onco-cardiology. CONCLUSIONS: Heart function monitoring is critical during anti-cancer therapy so that we can early identify cardiac abnormalities and actively adopt measures to prevent myocardial injury.