• Kazuko Tajiri and Masaki Ieda.
• Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.
• Front Cardiovasc Med. 2019 Jan 1; 6: 3.

AbstractImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have changed the treatment landscape of advanced cancers. Unfortunately, these agents can induce a wide spectrum of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) through activation of immune responses in non-target organs, including the heart. As the clinical use of ICI therapy increases rapidly, management of irAEs is becoming extremely important. The most commonly presented cardiac irAE is myocarditis. Histopathologically, T-cell (with a predominance of CD8+ cells) and macrophage infiltration in the myocardium is typically observed in ICI-associated myocarditis. Other presentations of cardiac irAEs include congestive heart failure, Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, pericardial disease, arrhythmias, and conduction disease. Although cardiac irAEs are relatively rare, they can be life-threatening. Hence, cardiologists and oncologists should be vigilant for these presentations.

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