Cardio-Oncology in Iran: Cardio-toxicity Registry

Abstract

Advances in cancer treatment have resulted in a growing number of cancer survivors. However, powerful treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation treatments, and some cancer drugs are not without risks, including the potential for serious, long-term damage to the heart. Cardiology and oncology specialists often collaborate to mitigate these risks when treating cancer patients. This joining is known as cardio-oncology. The main goals of cardio-oncology are to screen for and actively manage modifiable cardiovascular risk factors and diseases in cancer patients. Cardio-oncology plays an increasingly active role at every stage of cancer therapy, including baseline risk assessment pretreatment, surveillance and prevention during treatment, response to acute complications, and assessment of survivors’ post-cardiotoxic treatments. Cancer treatment has been optimized through new treatment strategies. The first cardio-oncology clinic in Iran was instituted about 4 years ago (2017) at Shaheed Rajaei Cardiovascular Medical and Research Center in Tehran, which is the first cardio-oncology clinic in the Middle East. It provides care for cancer patients with a history of cardiovascular disease or risk for cardiotoxicity during cancer therapy. Also, all patients are enrolled in the multicenter cardio-oncology Toxicity Registry research database, and 13 other hospitals from different centers in the whole country are involved in the registry. The establishment of the cardio-oncology clinic with a focus on the patient registry is discussed in this article.