Radiotherapy and anthracyclines – cardiovascular toxicity

The subject of this paper is to analyze the impact of radiotherapy and anthracyclines on the cardiovascular system, based on a survey of contemporary literature. Currently, high efficiency of anticancer therapies has increased the rate of survival in patients treated for cancer. It should be emphasized, however, that these treatments damage not only the affected but also the healthy tissue. Consequently, with the increase of survival rate in these patients, the number of patients with complaints regarding numerous organs and systems also increases as a result of earlier treatment. Thus, during the first decade of the 21(st) century, a number of concerns about the relationship between cancer treatment and dysfunction of the cardiovascular system were resolved. Anthracyclines, as well as radiotherapy, are capable of damaging the cardiovascular system, both at the central level, by the deterioration of cardiac function, and at peripheral levels, by increasing the hemodynamic and thrombotic changes.