Cardio-Oncology: Cancer and Treatment-Related Cardiotoxicity and Imaging Methods for Assessment of Cardiotoxicity

Cardio-oncology is a new branch of cardiology that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer-related and treatment-related cardiac disorders in patients with malignant disease. Being a highly aggressive form of malignancy, esophageal cancer is known to locally invade nearby cardiac structures and great veins, as well as metastasize to the pericardium and myocardium. The chemoradiotherapy regimens used to treat this aggressive form of cancer also expose patients to the risk of treatment-induced cardiac damage and dysfunction. Imaging modalities for the diagnosis and follow-up of cardiac dysfunction range from simple transthoracic echocardiography to advanced imaging modalities such as speckle-tracking echocardiography to cardiac MRI. This chapter summarizes available evidence on the diagnosis and management of cardiotoxicity related to esophageal cancer and its various treatments, as well as imaging modalities used to monitor cancer- and treatment-related cardiac dysfunction.