Patients to benefit from new cardio-oncology service

Patients with possible heart conditions are set to benefit from a new joint cardio-oncology service being established by Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital (LHCH) and Clatterbridge Cancer Centre (CCC).

The new service, launching this autumn, will see close collaboration between oncologists and cardiologists from the two trusts to provide cardiac assessment and care for a wide-range of patients before, during and after their cancer treatment.

Dr Rebecca Dobson, Consultant Cardiologist at LHCH, who is leading the service, said the benefits for patients and families will be significant.

“We know that alongside an ageing population, the incidence of cancer has been rising in recent years. Whilst advances in treatment have led to better outcomes for cancer patients, one of the side effects is that these treatments can lead to cardiac problems.

“We know that many cancer patients also have cardiovascular problems when they start cancer therapy. Therefore it is really important for patients to have rapid access to cardiovascular investigations and assessment in order to prevent delays to their treatment.

“This new dedicated cardio-oncology service not only helps to identify patients at risk from cardiac illness earlier in the patient pathway, and provides rapid access to specialist cardiovascular care and treatment, but also ensures a more holistic approach that will improve the patient’s experience.”

Dr Dobson added: “We also hope the new service provides these cardio-oncology patients with greater access to clinical trials, and that the evidence from future research will lead to improvements in care, treatment and outcomes.” 

The service will be based initially at LHCH and will be supported by Dr Jay Wright, Consultant Cardiologist, two highly specialised cardiac physiologists and a wider multi-disciplinary team. It will look after:  

• patients who need cancer treatment but need their heart function assessed before treatment starts
• patients who are currently receiving cancer treatment and have developed a cardiac complication
• patients who are clear of cancer but are now suffering from heart problems due to previous cancer treatments.