An overview of cardio-oncology, a new frontier to be explored

Advances in cancer treatments have led to an increasing number of cancer survivors, but also high rates of shortand long-term cardiovascular (CV) toxicities. The number of new cancer drugs is constantly increasing, and the uncertain CV toxicities of these drugs make long-term care and monitoring difficult. Moreover, traditional type I and type II cardiotoxicities may not be applicable to all of these agents. Multidisciplinary care with expertise in oncology, cardiology and other related specialties is required to mitigate cancer therapeutics-related cardiovascular dysfunction (CTRCD). The aim of this review is to provide an overview of themain CTRCD, risk assessment, early diagnosis, and strategies for the prevention andmanagement of patients receiving cancer therapies. There are still unmet needs for cardiooncology researchers with regards to early detection measures, better treatment strategies, better follow-up protocols, and better management of CTRCD. Experts in cardiology, oncology, hematology, and radio-oncology should thus work closely in an attempt to foster patient awareness and research in this field, as well as call for support from public and industrial sources to initiate pivotal clinical trials to solve these unmet needs.