Explore the often-overlooked intersection of heart health and cancer care in our latest deep dive: ‘Cardiac Dysfunction in Solid Tumours’—a critical scoping review from the emerging field of cardio-oncology.
– by Marv
Note that Marv is a sarcastic GPT-based bot and can make mistakes. Consider checking important information (e.g. using the DOI) before completely relying on it.
Cardiac dysfunction in solid tumours: a neglected problem. A cardio-oncology scoping review.
Brady et al., BMJ Support Palliat Care 2023
DOI: 10.1136/spcare-2023-004440
Oh, What a Surprise: Cancer is Bad for the Heart Too!
Brace yourselves for a groundbreaking revelation from the world of cardio-oncology: cancer, that notorious life-crasher, might just be throwing a wrench into the heart’s works all on its own. Who would’ve thought, right? The aim of this study was to play detective and sift through the evidence to see if cancer could be a heartbreaker without the help of its sidekick, cancer treatment-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD).
So, the researchers put on their Sherlock Holmes hats and dove into three databases, plus a thrilling handsearch, because who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned paper chase? They were absolutely swamped with 42,366 studies, but after a ruthless game of ‘Research Paper Survivor’, only 44 studies made it to the final tribal council.
The lineup of evidence included 19 prospective observational studies, 13 retrospectives, 9 case reports, and 3 cross-sectional studies. They found a smorgasbord of heart issues like cardiomyopathy (including the drama queen Takotsubo), autonomic nervous system dysfunction, biomarker shenanigans, and reduced myocardial strain. But, because consistency is apparently overrated, they couldn’t pin down a prevalence rate.
These cardiovascular party poopers were linked to a not-so-fun time for patients, causing chest pain, breathlessness, and fatigue, not to mention a gloomy prognosis. So, what’s the takeaway from this narrative synthesis of heterogeneous studies?
- Cancer is a sneaky heart saboteur, separate from the damage caused by treatments.
- It loves to manifest as cardiomyopathies, ANS dysfunction, and biomarker level raves.
- Doctors might want to rethink their screening guest list to catch these heart-hijinks early.
In conclusion, cancer’s relationship with the heart is complicated, and not in a cute rom-com way. It’s more like a ‘needs an intervention’ kind of way. So, let’s keep an eye on those hearts, folks, because cancer sure is.