Promising Radiopharmaceutical Tracers for Detection of Cardiotoxicity in Cardio-oncology

Abstract

Cancer treatment has the potential to cause cardiovascular issues and can encourage the appearance of all aspects of cardiac disease, including coronary heart disease, myocardial disease, heart failure, structural heart disease, and rhythm problems. Imaging is required for both diagnostic workup and therapy monitoring for all possible cardiovascular side effects of cancer therapy. Echocardiography is the cardiac imaging gold standard in cardio-oncology. Despite advancements in its use, this method is often not sensitive to early-stage or subclinical impairment. The use of molecular imaging technologies for diagnosing, assessing, and tracking cardiovascular illness as well as for treating, it is fast growing. Molecular imaging techniques using biologically targeted markers are gradually replacing the traditional anatomical or physiological approaches. They offer unique insight into patho-biological processes at the molecular and cellular levels and enable the evaluation and treatment of cardiovascular disease. This review paper will describe molecularbased single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) imaging techniques that are now available and in development to assess post-infarction cardiac remodeling. These methods could be used to evaluate important biological processes such as inflammation, angiogenesis, and scar formation.

Keywords: PET; Radiopharmaceuticals; SPECT; cancer therapy; cardio-oncology.; cardiotoxicity.