Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Program Building in Cardio-oncology: Bridging Existing Care Gaps to Improve Cardiovascular and Cancer Outcomes

  • Published:
Current Treatment Options in Cardiovascular Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of the review

We aim to elaborate on the fundamentals of cardio-oncology-programs (COP) building, existing challenges, and future directions to expand access to COPs and improve outcomes.

Recent findings

Worldwide, the number of COPs is growing. Strategic planning, qualified staff, well-equipped infrastructures, patient-centered focus, and academia are optimal elements for building and sustaining a COP. Alternative models leveraging existing resources are feasible for a larger number of institutions in the community and can achieve essential care metrics. Furthermore, advocacy, research, and education can play a vital role in expanding COPs and empowering community centers to meet the needs of this growing population.

Summary

All stakeholders involved in cardio-oncology care should collaborate to build and expand COPs to early-diagnose, prevent, and treat the growing burden of cardiovascular disease and cancer. COPs are proposed to improve access and quality of care, reduce resource-utilization, bridge knowledge gaps, and mitigate social and ethnic disparities.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable.

Abbreviations

ACC:

American College of Cardiology

ASCO:

American Society of Clinical Oncology

CTR-CVT:

Cancer Treatment-Related Cardiovascular Toxicity

CV:

Cardiovascular

CVD:

Cardiovascular disease

CO:

Cardio-oncology

COP:

Cardio-oncology programs

G-COR:

Global Cardio-Oncology Registry

ICOS:

International Cardio-Oncology Society

References and Recommended Reading

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

  1. Ahmad FB, Anderson RN. The leading causes of death in the US for 2020. JAMA. 2021;325:1829–30.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. •• Sadler D, Arnold A, Herrmann J, Daniele A, Silva CMPDC, Ghosh AK, Szmit S, Khan RI, Raez L, Blaes A. Reaching across the aisle: cardio-oncology advocacy and programbuilding. Curr Oncol Rep. 2021;23:1–13. In this paper, the authors highlighted the role of advocacy efforts in expanding CO care across the aisle and fostering collaboration among providers and academic and non-academic centers across the world.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Handy CE, Quispe R, Pinto X, Blaha MJ, Blumenthal RS, Michos ED, Lima JAC, Guallar E, Ryu S, Cho J. Synergistic opportunities in the interplay between cancer screening and cardiovascular disease risk assessment: together we are stronger. Circulation. 2018;138:727–34.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. • Battisti NML, Welch CA, Sweeting M, de Belder M, Deanfield J, Weston C, Peake MD, Adlam D, Ring A. Prevalence of cardiovascular disease in patients with potentially curable malignancies: a national registry dataset analysis. Cardio Oncology. 2022;4:238–253. In this study, the authors investigated CVD rates in 634,240 patients with common potentially curable malignancies and evaluated the associations between patient and disease characteristics and CVD prevalence.

  5. Möhl A, Behrens S, Flaßkamp F, Obi N, Kreienbrinck A, Holleczek B, Gali K, Chang-Claude J, Becher H. The impact of cardiovascular disease on all-cause and cancer mortality: results from a 16-year follow-up of a German breast cancer case–control study. Breast Cancer Res. 2023;25:1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Arnold M, Rutherford MJ, Bardot A, Ferlay J, Andersson TML, Myklebust TÅ, Tervonen H, Thursfield V, Ransom D, Shack L. Progress in cancer survival, mortality, and incidence in seven high-income countries 1995–2014 (ICBP SURVMARK-2): a population-based study. Lancet Oncol. 2019;20:1493–505.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Al-Kindi SG, Oliveira GH. Prevalence of preexisting cardiovascular disease in patients with different types of cancer: the unmet need for onco-cardiology. In: Mayo Clin Proc. Elsevier. 2016;81–83.

  8. Ellahham S, Khalouf A, Elkhazendar M, Dababo N, Manla Y. An overview of radiation-induced heart disease. Radiat Oncol J. 2022;40:89.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. • Sadler D, Chaulagain C, Alvarado B, Cubeddu R, Stone E, Samuel T, Bastos B, Grossman D, Fu C-L, Alley E. Practical and cost-effective model to build and sustain a cardio-oncology program. Cardio-Oncology. 2020;6:1–10. In this study, the authors described establishing a successful COP at Cleveland Clinic Florida utilizing existing resources without the need for significant additional assets.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Arnold AM, Skurka K. Cardio-oncology care delivered in the non-academic environment. Curr Treat Options Oncol. 2022;23:762–77.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Herrmann J, Lenihan D, Armenian S, Barac A, Blaes A, Cardinale D, Carver J, Dent S, Ky B, Lyon AR. Defining cardiovascular toxicities of cancer therapies: an International Cardio-Oncology Society (IC-OS) consensus statement. Eur Heart J. 2022;43:280–99.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. • Lyon AR, López-Fernández T, Couch LS, Asteggiano R, Aznar MC, Bergler-Klein J, Boriani G, Cardinale D, Cordoba R, Cosyns B. 2022 ESC Guidelines on cardio-oncology developed in collaboration with the European Hematology Association (EHA), the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO) and the International Cardio-Oncology Society (IC-OS) Developed by the task force on cardio-oncology of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Eur Heart J. 2022;43:4229–361. The ESC 2022 guidelines constitute the first roadmap with granular recommendations in the field of CO.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. • Florido R, Daya NR, Ndumele CE, Koton S, Russell SD, Prizment A, Blumenthal RS, Matsushita K, Mok Y, Felix AS. Cardiovascular disease risk among cancer survivors: the atherosclerosis risk in communities (ARIC) study. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022;80:22–32. In this study of 12,414 ARIC study participants, the authors assessed the risk of CVD in cancer survivors and described a higher risk of CVD, especially HF, among adult cancer survivors.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Alvarez-Cardona JA, Ray J, Carver J, Zaha V, Cheng R, Yang E, Mitchell JD, Stockerl-Goldstein K, Kondapalli L, Dent S. Cardio-oncology education and training: JACC council perspectives. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2020;76:2267–81.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Shi S, Lv J, Chai R, Xue W, Xu X, Zhang B, Li Y, Wu H, Song Q, Hu Y. Opportunities and challenges in cardio-oncology: a bibliometric analysis from 2010 to 2022. Curr Probl Cardiol. 2022;101227.

  16. Sverdlov AL, Koczwara B, Cehic DA, Clark RA, Hunt L, Nicholls SJ, Thomas L, Thornton-Benko E, Kritharides L. When cancer and cardiovascular disease intersect: the challenge and the opportunity of cardio-oncology. Heart Lung Circ.  2023.

  17. • Addison D, Branch M, Baik AH, Fradley MG, Okwuosa T, Reding KW, Simpson KE, Suero-Abreu GA, Yang EH, Yancy CW. Equity in cardio-oncology care and research: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2023;148:297–308. This statement summarizes available evidence while providing guidance on addressing inequities in the era of emerging anticancer therapies.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Sadler D, Okwuosa T, Teske AJ, Guha A, Collier P, Moudgil R, Sarkar A, Brown S-A. Cardio oncology: digital innovations, precision medicine and health equity. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2022;9:951551.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Liu B, Wang Y, An T, Cheng L, Liu Y, Ou J, Li H, Zhao X, Xia Y, Zhang Y. Knowledge level of cardio-oncology in oncologist and cardiologist: a survey in China. Chin Med J (Engl). 2023;136:114–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Alizadehasl A, Amin A, Maleki M, Noohi F, Ghavamzadeh A, Farrashi M. Cardio-oncology discipline: focus on the necessities in developing countries. ESC Heart Fail. 2020;7:2175–83.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Barac A, Murtagh G, Carver JR, Chen MH, Freeman AM, Herrmann J, Iliescu C, Ky B, Mayer EL, Okwuosa TM. Cardiovascular health of patients with cancer and cancer survivors: a roadmap to the next level. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2015;65:2739–46.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Shapiro CL. Cancer survivorship. N Engl J Med. 2018;379:2438–50.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Sparano JA, Sahni G. The ESC Cardio-Oncology guidelines: a roadmap for clinical practice and generating needed evidence. Cardio Oncology. 2023;5:141–4.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Fradley MG, Wilcox N, Frain I, Rao VU, Carver J, Guha A, Dent S. How to develop a clinical cardio-oncology program: the building blocks for success. Cardio Oncology. 2023.

  25. •• Fradley MG, Wilcox N, Frain I, Rao VU, Carver J, Guha A, Dent S. How to develop a clinical cardio-oncology program: the building blocks for success. Cardio Oncology. 2023. In this paper, the authors highlighted six proposed concepts that are essential for successful cardio-oncology program development.

  26. Ghosh AK, Manisty C, Woldman S, Crake T, Westwood M, Walker JM. Setting up cardio-oncology services. Br J Cardiol. 2017;24:1.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Okwuosa TM, Akhter N, Williams KA, DeCara JM. Building a cardio-oncology program in a small-to medium-sized, nonprimary cancer center, academic hospital in the USA: challenges and pitfalls. Future Cardiol. 2015;11:413–20.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Hayek SS, Ganatra S, Lenneman C, Scherrer-Crosbie M, Leja M, Lenihan DJ, Yang E, Ryan TD, Liu J, Carver J. Preparing the cardiovascular workforce to care for oncology patients: JACC review topic of the week. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2019;73:2226–35.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. •• Liu Y. A novel cardio-oncology service line model in optimizing care access, quality and equity for large, multi-hospital health systems. Cardio-Oncology. 2023;9:1–10. In this experience, the authors described the feasibility and effectiveness of a CO service line with a standardized care model to improve CO care quality, patient access, and health equity in large, multi-hospital health systems.

  30. Barros-Gomes S, Herrmann J, Mulvagh SL, Lerman A, Lin G, Villarraga HR. Rationale for setting up a cardio-oncology unit: our experience at Mayo Clinic. Cardio-Oncology. 2016;2:1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. ICOS. IC-OS Centers of Excellence Certification. 2019. https://ic-os.org/excellence-certification/. Accessed 9 Sep 2023.

  32. Farmakis D, Keramida K, Filippatos G. How to build a cardio-oncology service? Eur J Heart Fail. 2018;20:1732–4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Sundlöf DW, Patel BD, Schadler KC, Biggs RG, Silverstein Fadlon CA, Corotto PS, Tolay S, Nadeem AJ, Gupta R, Ahmad NV. Development of a cardio-oncology program in a community hospital. Cardio Oncology. 2019;1:310–3.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Alizadehasl A, Noohi F, Maleki M, Peyghambari MM, Akbari Parsa N, Emami AH, Moosavi A, Hagh Azali M, Pouraliakbar H, Azadeh P. Cardio-oncology in Iran. Cardio. Oncology. 2021;3:756–9.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Gomez L, Santana PP, Colon L, Leon E, Badillo S, Delgado M, Gomez H, Pringle G, Holguin J, Martinez S. Evolution and sustainability of cardio-oncology programs in low-income nations. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022;79:1818.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Sulpher J, Mathur S, Lenihan D, Johnson C, Turek M, Law A, Stadnick E, Dattilo F, Graham N, Dent SF. An international survey of health care providers involved in the management of cancer patients exposed to cardiotoxic therapy. J Oncol. 2015.

  37. Peng J, Rushton M, Johnson C, Brezden-Masley C, Sulpher J, Chiu MG, Graham ID, Dent S. An international survey of healthcare providers’ knowledge of cardiac complications of cancer treatments. Cardio-oncology. 2019;5:1–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. •• Sadler D, Fradley MG, Ismail-Khan R, Raez L, Bhandare D, Elson L, Perloff D, Guerrero P, Nahleh Z, Arnold A. Florida inter-specialty collaborative project to improve cardio-oncology awareness and identify existing knowledge gaps. Cardio Oncology. 2020;2:535–8. This project describes the collaborative effort between cardiologists and oncologists and integration of the ACC and ASCO state chapters as a model to identify gaps in access to care in the community.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Kozhukhov S, Dovganych N. Cardio-oncology educational program: national survey as the first step to start. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2021;8:697240.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  40. Koop Y, Teske AJ, Wanders I, Meijer H, Kaanders J, Manintveld OC, Hassing HC, Vermeulen H, Maas AHEM, van Spronsen D-J. Future steps in cardio-oncology—a national multidisciplinary survey among healthcare professionals in the Netherlands. J Cancer Surviv. 2023;17:1131–8.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Jovenaux L, Cautela J, Resseguier N, Pibarot M, Taouqi M, Orabona M, Pinto J, Peyrol M, Barraud J, Laine M. Practices in management of cancer treatment-related cardiovascular toxicity: A cardio-oncology survey. Int J Cardiol. 2017;241:387–92.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Farhan HA, Yaseen IF. Perceptions of the cardiologists and oncologists: initial step for establishing cardio-oncology service. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2021;1636.

  43. FLASCO / Cardio Oncology. https://flasco.org/cardio-oncology/. Accessed 24 Aug 2023.

  44. Florida Chapter, American College of Cardiology - Cardio Oncology. https://accfl.org/Cardio-Oncology. Accessed 24 Aug 2023.

  45. • Sadler D, DeCara JM, Herrmann J, Arnold A, Ghosh AK, Abdel-Qadir H, Yang EH, Szmit S, Akhter N, Leja M. Perspectives on the COVID-19 pandemic impact on cardio-oncology: results from the COVID-19 International Collaborative Network survey. Cardio-oncology. 2020;6:1–13. This is the first collaborative project completed by the Cardio-Oncology Collaborative Network and a result of an international cooperation between cardiologists and oncologists.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Yu A, Yin A, Liu J, Steingart R. Cost-effectiveness of cardiotoxicity monitoring. Am Coll Cardiol Expert Anal. 2017;19:330.

    Google Scholar 

  47. Nolan MT, Plana JC, Thavendiranathan P, Shaw L, Si L, Marwick TH. Cost-effectiveness of strain-targeted cardioprotection for prevention of chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity. Int J Cardiol. 2016;212:336–45.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Velusamy R, Nolan M. Cost-effectiveness analysis of coronary artery disease screening in patients with breast cancer. Circulation. 2022;146:A11770–A11770.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. de Mello SF, Fiuza M, Pinto F, Fontes J. Cost-effectiveness of cardio-oncology clinical assessment for prevention of chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity. Revista Portuguesa de Cardiologia (English Edition). 2021;40:475–83.

    Google Scholar 

  50. Zheng H, Zhan H. Cardio-Oncology guidelines and strength of the evidence. Cardio Oncology. 2023;5:149–52.

    Google Scholar 

  51. Rassaf T. Cardio-oncology: challenges in modern medicine. J Thorac Dis. 2018;10:S4280.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  52. Bisceglia I, Canale ML, Gallucci G, Turazza FM, Lestuzzi C, Parrini I, Russo G, Maurea N, Quagliariello V, Oliva S. Cardio-oncology in the COVID era (Co & Co): the never ending story. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2022;9:821193.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  53. Bader F, Manla Y, Atallah B, Starling RC. Heart failure and COVID-19. Heart Fail Rev. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10741-020-10008-2.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Göbölös L, Manla Y, Rácz I, et al. Adverse cardiac effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Journal of Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology. 2022. https://doi.org/10.15420/japsc.2022.04.

  55. Prasad P, Branch M, Asemota D, Elsayed R, Addison D, Brown S-A. Cardio-oncology preventive care: racial and ethnic disparities. Curr Cardiovasc Risk Rep. 2020;14:1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Sutton AL, Obeng-Gyasi S, Hines AL. Leveling up: examining the impact of neighborhood social vulnerability on comorbid cardiovascular and cancer mortality. Cardio Oncology. 2022;4:338–40.

    Google Scholar 

  57. •• Ganatra S, Dani SS, Kumar A, Khan SU, Wadhera R, Neilan TG, Thavendiranathan P, Barac A, Hermann J, Leja M. Impact of social vulnerability on comorbid cancer and cardiovascular disease mortality in the United States. Cardio Oncology. 2022;4:326–37. In this study, the authors examined the impact of social vulnerability on mortality attributed to comorbid cancer and CVD and reported an increased comorbid cancer and CVD mortality in counties with higher social vulnerability.

    Google Scholar 

  58. Hamid A, MacLeod J, Erb S, Berman G, Martinez HR, Scherrer-Crosbie M, Cheng RK, Brown S-A. Leveraging digital and technological innovations in cardio-oncology: building collaborative networks, implementing education and improving the cardiac outcomes of patients. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2023;10:1184988.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  59. Kondapalli L, Arora G, Hawi R, Andrikopoulou E, Estes C, Patel N, Lenneman CG. Innovations in cardio-oncology resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Curr Treat Options Oncol. 2022;23:1288–302.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  60. Kwan JM, Henry ML, Christophers B, Tamirisa K, Thamman R, Sadler D, Aggarwal NR, Cheng R, Parwani P, Dent S. The role and impact of social media in cardio-oncology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Curr Oncol Rep. 2021;23:1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. • Brown S-A, Beavers C, Martinez HR, Marshall CH, Olaye IM, Guha A, Cho D, Bailey A, Bergom C, Bansal N. Bridging the gap to advance the care of individuals with cancer: collaboration and partnership in the Cardiology Oncology Innovation Network (COIN). Cardio-oncology. 2022;8:1–7. This article describes a collaborative initiative to develop more effective CO care pathways leveraging innovation, collaboration, and education.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. • Minasian LM, Dimond E, Davis M, Adhikari B, Fagerstrom R, Fabian C, Floyd J, Unger JM, Douglas PS, Mustian KM. The evolving design of NIH-funded cardio-oncology studies to address cancer treatment-related cardiovascular toxicity. Cardio Oncology. 2019;1:105–13. This review highlighted five large NIH-funded clinical trials on CO that promote collaboration between oncology and CV providers, and highlighted the need to integrate CV and cancer end-points in clinical trials.

    Google Scholar 

  63. Reynolds KL, Zlotoff DA, Mooradian M, Zubiri L, Ridker P, Neilan TG. Abatacept for immune checkpoint inhibitor associated myocarditis (ATRIUM): phase 3, investigator-initiated, randomized, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of abatacept compared to placebo in hospitalized patients with immune checkpoint inhibitor associated myocarditis. 2023.

  64. Lopez-Sendon J, Alvarez-Ortega C, Zamora Auñon P, Buño Soto A, Lyon AR, Farmakis D, Cardinale D, Canales Albendea M, Feliu Batlle J, Rodríguez Rodríguez I. Classification, prevalence, and outcomes of anticancer therapy-induced cardiotoxicity: the CARDIOTOX registry. Eur Heart J. 2020;41:1720–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. Caro-Codón J, López-Fernández T, Álvarez-Ortega C, Zamora Auñón P, Rodríguez IR, Gómez Prieto P, Buño Soto A, Canales Albendea M, Albaladejo A, Mediavilla G. Cardiovascular risk factors during cancer treatment. Prevalence and prognostic relevance: insights from the CARDIOTOX registry. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2022;29:859–68.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  66. Kamphuis JAM, Linschoten M, Cramer MJ, Alsemgeest F, van Kessel DJW, Urgel K, Post MC, Manintveld OC, Hassing HC, Liesting C. ONCOR: design of the Dutch cardio-oncology registry. Neth Hear J. 2021;29:288–94.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  67. Zatarain-Nicolás E, Martín P, Márquez Rodas I, Virizuela J, Martín García A, Mitroi C, Cosín Sales J, Barrios V, Sánchez-Cabo F, Ibañez B. Cardiovascular toxicity of checkpoint inhibitors: review of associated toxicity and design of the Spanish Immunotherapy Registry of Cardiovascular Toxicity. Clin Transl Oncol. 2023;1–13.

  68. •• Teske AJ, Moudgil R, López-Fernández T, et al. Global Cardio Oncology Registry (G-COR): registry design, primary objectives, and future perspectives of a multicenter global initiative. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2023;0:e009905. This multi-national, multi-center prospective registry has been established to provide insights on global incidence and outcomes of CTR-CVT, describe current CO screening and treatment practices, and evaluate the geographic and regional variations and impact of socioeconomic disparities on access to CO care.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Y.M, F.F, and D.S drafted the manuscript and prepared the figures and tables. D.S supervised the work. Y.M, F.F, and D.S reviewed and edited the manuscript and approved its final version.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diego Sadler MD, FACC, FACP.

Ethics declarations

Ethical Approval

Not applicable.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Manla, Y., Franco, F.X. & Sadler, D. Program Building in Cardio-oncology: Bridging Existing Care Gaps to Improve Cardiovascular and Cancer Outcomes. Curr Treat Options Cardio Med 26, 47–67 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11936-024-01033-7

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11936-024-01033-7

Keywords

Navigation