Practical application of multimodality imaging for cardio-oncology in Latin America.

Abstract

Latin America (LA) is one of the regions in the world with the highest levels of overweight, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus, which, together with smoking and high blood pressure, are common risk factors for cardiovascular and oncological diseases. Chemotherapy (CT) and Radiotherapy (RT) have become two of the mainstays of treatment for several types of cancer. One of the most worrisome side effects generated by CT and RT is cardiotoxicity. There are several imaging techniques in cardiology that can inform the presence of underlying disease, but they differ in their availability and access to the masses, their accuracy and repeatability, all of which are important determinants of the applicability of these techniques in routine clinical practice. Thus, it is mandatory to promote a clinically effective and a cost-effective multimodality approach for risk stratification, diagnosis and management of cardiovascular diseases in oncologic patients. The purpose of this review is to inform cardiologists, oncologists, cardio-oncologists and imaging cardiologists on the cardiac imaging modalities that can be applied in patients with cancer, the differences among imaging techniques and recommendations on how to apply them in LA.