Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have encouraged a paradigm shift in the clinical management of patients with cancer. Despite the dramatically improved tumor response and patient prognosis, ICIs have been associated with ICI-related myocarditis, which has a high fatality rate. Cardiac imaging plays a critical role in the assessment of cardiac injury. Echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, and targeted tracer-based cardiac molecular imaging techniques alone or in combination reflect pathophysiology and depict different aspects of lesions at different clinical stages, i.e., they have potentially complementary value. Imaging techniques for identifying ICI-induced cardiotoxicity at the early stage may reduce the incidence of adverse cardiovascular events. Particularly in planned ICI therapy among patients with cancer, improved monitoring approaches to identify patients who are at the highest risk of ICI-related myocarditis may help in refining clinical decisions, allowing treatment to be more accurately targeted toward patients who are most likely to benefit. In this study, we systematically reviewed the studies on cardiac imaging techniques for assessing ICI-induced cardiotoxicity. We elaborated about the potential applications of cardiac imaging techniques for the optimized management of patients with ICI-related myocarditis, including risk stratification, diagnosis, and prognosis.
Keywords: Immune checkpoint inhibitors; cancer; cardiac imaging; cardiotoxicity; myocarditis.
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