Onkológia 6/2012

Cardiovascular risk factors and diseases in testicular cancer survivors

Increase of testicular cancer survivors are accompanied by growing evidence of late side effects induced by antineoplastic treatment. Cardiovascular consequences represent one of the most serious effects with respect to their life-threatening potential. During the last years a sufficient evidence has been accumulated that there is a higher incidence of cardiovascular diseases, particularly in patients treated with high-dose cisplatin chemotherapy or mediastinal irradiation. Several authors have reported high risk of coronary artery disease and higher prevalence of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, metabolic syndrome and obesity among patients being treated successfully for testicular cancer. Early identification of cardiovascular risk factors and their modification may improve quality and life-expectancy of patients after testicular cancer therapy.

Keywords: testicular cancer, late side effects, cardiovascular toxicity.