The involvement of cardiovascular system in patients with lung cancer

Piotr Sobański

Vol 3, No 3 (2004): Polish Palliative Medicine

Artykuły poglądowe

Published online: 2004-04-27

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The involvement of cardiovascular system in patients with lung cancer

Piotr Sobański

Advances in Palliative Medicine 2004;3(3):265-280.

Vol 3, No 3 (2004): Polish Palliative Medicine

Artykuły poglądowe

Published online: 2004-04-27

Abstract

Patients with malignant tumours of the lungs often present with symptoms and signs of cardiovascular pathology as well as with abnormal results of the diagnostic tests. In such situations oncologists are faced with difficult therapeutic decisions. These may concern qualification or disqualification for a particular modality of oncological treatment. Scrupulous assessment enables radical anti-tumoral treatment to be started. This also applies to patients with cardiovascular risk factors, provided, however, that the risk is relatively low and there is a real chance of survival of the period of active cardiological treatment. In patients with advanced disease, may become difficult. In such cases of advanced malignancy interventions should be limited to correction of the abnormalities, disapperance of which may improve the patient’s survival or quality of live. Sometimes it becomes difficult to find out which cardiovascular pathologies accompanying the malignancy are clinically significant. This article describes basic symptoms and signs, diagnostic and treatment modalities of the cardiovascular diseases caused by malignancy and also catalogues the cardiovascular side-effects of oncological treatment.