Jutta Bergler-Klein, Head of the Cardio-Oncology Outpatient Clinic at MedUni Vienna’s Department of Medicine II, has been elected by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) to the Cardio-Oncology Board as Treasurer. This important committee deals with the cardiological side effects of cancer and cancer therapies, which are becoming increasingly important.
Cardio-oncology is an interdisciplinary medical field that deals with the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases that occur in connection with cancer and its treatment. The aim is to maintain the heart health of cancer patients during and after their treatment and to manage the occurrence of "cardiotoxicity ". Close collaboration between cardiologists and oncologists as well as radio-oncologists is crucial here.
Cardiotoxicity includes not only heart failure (cardiac insufficiency), e.g. with anthracyclines, HER-2 targeted inhibitors (e.g. trastuzumab), but also acute coronary ischaemia (e.g. with 5-fluorouracil, cisplatin, taxanes, etc.), arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation (e.g. with Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as ibrutinib), QT time prolongation (e.g. with CDK-4 inhibitors in breast cancer patients), hypertension (e.g. with tyrosine kinase inhibitors, VEGF inhibitors, monoclonal antibody therapies), myocarditis (e.g. with immune checkpoint inhibitors) and others. Long-term survival in cancer has increased considerably thanks to modern chemotherapy, antibody-, immunotherapy and radiotherapy. At the same time, however, the recognition and timely treatment of cardiovascular side effects of cancer therapies is becoming increasingly important. Tumour diseases can trigger heart disease through common risk factors, but also through direct interactions (reverse cardio-oncology).
Due to the increasing clinical and scientific relevance of this topic, the published its first guidelines on the subject in 2022, in which Jutta Bergler-Klein was involved. "In cardio-oncology, the aim is to minimise cardiovascular risk at an early stage through targeted prevention strategies, thereby maximising the effectiveness of oncological therapies," explains Jutta Bergler-Klein. She intends to use her new role as Treasurer on the ESC Cardio-Oncology Board to further increase awareness of her field, drive forward research and contribute to the development of the ESC Core Curriculum for cardio-oncology training.
