The role of physical exercise in cancer therapy-related CV toxicity

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and cancer are among the leading causes of mortality in high-income countries [Citation1]. In recent years, relevant improvements in managing oncologic diseases, including timely diagnosis and treatment, have led to an increase in patient’s long-term survival. On the other hand, this prolonged life expectancy also determined an escalation in the prevalence of the comorbidities potentially associated with cancer therapy administration, which from a cardiovascular (CV) standpoint are comprehensively referred with the term cancer therapy-related cardiovascular toxicity (CTR-CVT). According to the latest International Cardio-Oncology Society (IC-OS) consensus statement, CTR-CVT can be classified as: 1) symptomatic or asymptomatic cancer therapy-related cardiovascular dysfunction (CTRCD), 2) immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) myocarditis, 3) asymptomatic or symptomatic vascular toxicity, 4) arterial hypertension, and 5) cardiac arrhythmias.