Abstract
BACKGROUND: Collaboration between cardiologists and oncologists was recommended as part of Japan's Basic Plan to Promote Disease Control Programs in 2023. We evaluated the extent of this collaboration regarding anthracycline-related cardiomyopathy (ARCM). METHODS AND RESULTS: Self-administered questionnaires on ARCM were distributed to all cardiologists and leading oncologists in hospitals across the Niigata Prefecture. Overall, 126 cardiologists and 41 leading oncologists from 29 hospitals responded to the survey. Clinical experience with ARCM was reported by 76.2% of cardiologists and 58.5% of leading oncologists (P=0.044). Guideline recommendations for the early detection and treatment of ARCM were known by 89.1% of cardiologists and 87.8% of leading oncologists. Among the 20 hospitals providing chemotherapy, 12 (60%) had matching answers for 'post-event consultation' or 'pre-event consultation' between the cardiology and oncology departments. Regarding 'pre-event consultation', 4 hospitals had consistent responses for the most proactive response, whereas only 1 hospital had consistent responses from both departments for the majority response. The agreement of responses between the 2 departments was significant for the most proactive response (k=0.485; P=0.005), but not for the majority response (k=0.059; P=0.675). CONCLUSIONS: The importance of early detection and treatment of ARCM was understood at the individual level; however, increased emphasis on 'pre-event consultation' is necessary to establish an interdepartmental early detection system.