The Nuts and Bolts of an Inpatient Cardio-Oncology Consult Team

Cancer therapies can affect the whole cardiovascular system, but these cardiotoxic effects are generally reported as changes in left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction. The most common cardiovascular adverse effects are LV dysfunction and heart failure (HF). Other adverse effects include hypertension, acute coronary syndromes, thromboembolic events, rhythm disturbances, and valvular and/or pericardial disease. Hence, prediction, early recognition, and timely management of cardiovascular complications in patients with cancer are gaining importance. This need gave birth to the concept of interdisciplinary cardiology-oncology (cardio-oncology) care delivered through teams of cardiologists, oncologists, and hematologists.

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Combination treatment, diabetes drug and immunotherapy, may help to fight breast cancer

MYC, a gene with high cancer-initiating potential, is overexpressed in over 40% of breast cancers.
While MYC programs breast cancer cells to build more macromolecules (anabolic metabolism), it also creates a metabolic vulnerability by making them more sensitive to a type of cell death known as apoptosis. Research Director Juha Klefstrom, PhD, University of Helsinki, Finland, has worked for a long time to exploit this apoptosis-sensitising effect of MYC in the battle against the cancer.

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