Isr Med Assoc J
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Zinc is a trace element, which is abundant in nature. It is also an essential and important micronutrient found in many foods. It has a role in multiple bodily processes including wound healing and boosting of the immune system. ⋯ This result is shown in all types of cancer tested. Zinc shows incredible toxicity toward cancer cells without showing any side effects toward healthy cells. It is recommended that zinc be added to cancer treatment regimens to alleviate zinc deficiency in cancer patients and perhaps to treat cancer as a whole.
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The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis is multifactorial, mainly driven by complex inflammatory processes. Colchicine is an anti-inflammatory drug used in a variety of clinical settings. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the role of colchicine in atherosclerotic vascular disease and more specifically, its promising impact on the outcome of patients with stable and acute coronary syndrome and to review its effect in patients undergoing angioplasty. ⋯ Patients with chronic coronary disease may benefit from treatment with low dose colchicine to reduce the occurrence of a cardiovascular event. Among patients with a recent myocardial infarction, colchicine treatment was associated with reduced ischemic cardiovascular events, although without a meaningful difference in mortality. Colchicine was found to be a promising agent that can be potentially integrated into the armamentarium of treatments for patients with atherosclerotic coronary disease pending careful patient selection.
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Atrial fibrillation is becoming an increasingly important problem in cardio-oncology. Specific risk factors for atrial fibrillation occurrence include type of cancer disease and anticancer drugs. ⋯ The CHA2DS2-VASc and CHA2DS2 scores may be important not only in predicting stroke but also in mortality. The role of new direct oral anticoagulants is growing, but they need to be used in a personalized approach depending on the risk of unbeneficial interactions with cancer treatment and the risk of bleeding.
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Cardiac tumors are rare and the majority are from a primary source outside of the heart. Most are found, incidentally, with echocardiography but often additional cardiac imaging is needed to refine the differential diagnosis. ⋯ Cardiac CT may be useful to evaluate the effect of treatment while using 18F-FDG PET/CT to evaluate cardiac masses is under-studied but may be useful in patients who are already having a scan performed for oncologic reasons. It is through understanding the clinical context of a newly discovered cardiac mass, knowledge of the typical locations of various cardiac tumor types, combined with imaging techniques that avoid ionizing radiation that yield the greatest confidence in the noninvasive diagnosis of a cardiac mass.
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Several novel strategies have emerged in the last decade as potential therapies for patients with chemorefractory lymphoproliferative diseases and acute leukemia. While these treatments include exciting drugs that dramatically change the landscape of treatment, the organ-toxicity profile associated with these therapies may be significant. This article focuses on cardiac disorders associated with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, as well as with novel regimens for acute leukemia.