Out of the frying pan and into the fire: damage-associated molecular patterns and cardiovascular toxicity following cancer therapy

Cardio-oncology is a new and rapidly expanding field that merges cancer and cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is an omnipresent side effect of cancer therapy; in fact, it is the second leading cause of death in cancer survivors after recurrent cancer. It has been well documented that many cancer chemotherapeutic agents cause cardiovascular toxicity. Nonetheless, the underlying cause of cancer therapy-induced cardiovascular toxicity is largely unknown. In this review, we discuss the potential role of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) as an underlying contributor to cancer therapy-induced cardiovascular toxicity. With an increasing number of cancer patients, as well as extended life expectancy, understanding the mechanisms underlying cancer therapy-induced cardiovascular disease is of the utmost importance to ensure that cancer is the only disease burden that cancer survivors have to endure.