Advances in cancer treatment mean that more and more patients are surviving cancer in the long term. At the same time, chemotherapy and immunotherapy can cause cardiovascular side effects – ranging from cardiac arrhythmias to heart muscle disease or heart failure.

Scientists and clinicians at the Leibniz Cardio-Oncology Campus for Precision Medicine are investigating how such heart damage can be detected early and prevented. They are studying the molecular mechanisms and developing blood tests designed to indicate, during cancer treatment, whether the heart is being damaged – even before symptoms appear. On this basis, they are developing risk models designed to enable a personalised assessment of the cardiovascular risk associated with cancer treatment. This would allow clinicans to monitor treatment more closely in future and adjust it at an early stage if necessary.

Initially, the focus is on malignant melanoma as a model. Data are already available from 390 cancer patients with confirmed cardiac dysfunction. The findings will subsequently be applied to other types of cancer, such as breast or blood cancer. In the long term, the researchers aim to achieve personalised cancer treatment that effectively combats the tumour whilst protecting the heart.