ABSTRACT
Cardio-oncology is a novel field, focused on minimizing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in cancer survivors. This field is growing rapidly due to recognition that many agents that are effective cancer therapies leave survivors at heightened risk for cardiovascular disease. To reduce this risk, patients are assessed at baseline to define their risk of cardiotoxicity and then followed closely during and after chemotherapy to assess for early signs and symptoms of cardiovascular disease. Cardiac imaging plays an essential role in the baseline assessment and serial follow-up. In this chapter, we present three interesting cases demonstrating the various cardiac imaging modalities used in the care of this specialized population. Our first and second cases show the use of echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance and strain imaging in management of anthracycline toxicity and asymptomatic trastuzumab-related cardiotoxicity. The third case exhibits the use of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and computerized tomography derived fractional flow reserve (FFR)-CT in the diagnosis of radiation induced coronary artery disease. In summary, we discuss various imaging modalities and emerging techniques that can assist in detecting early signs of cardiotoxicity and thus reduce the incidence of cardiac disease in cancer survivors.
