British Society for Echocardiography and British Cardio-Oncology Society guideline for transthoracic echocardiographic assessment of adult cancer patients receiving anthracyclines and/or trastuzumab

• DOI: 10.1530/erp-21-0001
• Publication Date: 2021-03-16T08:23:40Z
• Authors: Rebecca Dobson; Arjun K. Ghosh; Bonnie Ky; Tom Marwick; Martin Stout; Allan Harkness; Rick Steeds; Shaun Robinson; David Oxborough; David Adlam; Susannah Stanway; Bushra Rana; Thomas Ingram; Liam Ring; Stuart Rosen; Chris Plummer; Charlotte Manisty; Mark Harbinson; Vishal Sharma; Keith Pearce; Alexander R. Lyon; Daniel X. Augustine
• Keywords: 610; imaging; HER2 therapy; Guidelines and Recommendations; anthracycline; R1; 3. Good health; her2 therapy; RC0254; RC1200; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; RC666-701; echocardiography; Diseases of the circulatory (Cardiovascular) system; guidelines

The subspecialty of cardio-oncology aims to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with cancer or following cancer treatment. Cancer therapy can lead to a variety of cardiovascular complications, including left ventricular systolic dysfunction, pericardial disease, and valvular heart disease. Echocardiography is a key diagnostic imaging tool in the diagnosis and surveillance for many of these complications. The baseline assessment and subsequent surveillance of patients undergoing treatment with anthracyclines and/or human epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (HER) 2-positive targeted treatment (e.g. trastuzumab and pertuzumab) form a significant proportion of cardio-oncology patients undergoing echocardiography. This guideline from the British Society of Echocardiography and British Cardio-Oncology Society outlines a protocol for baseline and surveillance echocardiography of patients undergoing treatment with anthracyclines and/or trastuzumab. The methodology for acquisition of images and the advantages and disadvantages of techniques are discussed. Echocardiographic definitions for considering cancer therapeutics-related cardiac dysfunction are also presented.