Introducing Cardio-Oncology: A Vital Addition for the Cancer Journey

Dr Arjun Ghosh MBBS, MSc, PhD, FHEA, FACC, FESC, FRCP, FICOS is a Consultant Cardiologist at University College London Hospital (UCLH) and Barts Heart Centre, London, UK.

He helped establish and grow cardio-oncology services at UCLH and Barts Heart Centre which are now amongst the biggest in the world. He is the clinical lead of the UCLH service which looks after all the cardiac needs of cancer patients and also has national and international cardio-oncology leadership roles with the British Cardio-Oncology Society and the International Cardio-Oncology Society. Arjun was also joint first author of the UK’s first cardio-oncology guideline.

Dr Sebastian Szmit graduated from the Military Medical Academy in Poland. He began cardio-oncology activities in 2006 by working for the Department of Oncology of the Military Institute of Medicine.

Sebastian Szmit was appointed the executive editor of the Task Force of National Consultants in Cardiology and Clinical Oncology, to develop the first two Polish documents for Recommendations on cardiologic safety of patients with breast cancer (published in 2010) and lung cancer (published in 2012).

Since 2012 he has served as the cardio-oncology consultant at the Department of Pulmonary Circulation, Thromboembolic Diseases and Cardiology, and since 2015 as the scientific director of the training in Oncology and in Cardiology; at the Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education in Poland. He is the cardio-oncology research coordinator for the Polish Lymphoma Research Group and the Polish National Oncology Network.

He co-authored two educational books: Hypertension-oncology: arterial hypertension in cancer disease; and Cardiovascular complications in cancer patients; published in 2018 under auspices of the Polish Society of Clinical Oncology. Since 2019 he has been a Member of the Executive Committee of the Global Cardio-Oncology Summit (GCOS) and a Member of the Education & Training Advisory Committee of the International Cardio-Oncology Society (IC-OS).

Since 2020 he has been an Honorary Member of the Cardio-Oncology Society of Southern Africa (COSOSA), a Fellow of the International Cardio-Oncology Society (FICOS) and a Board Member of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Council of Cardio-Oncology. On his initiative, on May 26th 2021, the Scientific Council of the Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education decided to create the Cardiooncology Department with Echocardiography Laboratory; based at two hospitals: (1) European Health Centre in Otwock (oncology center); (2) Institute of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine in Warsaw.

Dr YT (Trishun) Singh is an interventional and non-interventional cardiologist, in Private Cardiology Practice and has been in Specialist Cardiology Practice for the past 33 years. 

Qualified at the Medical School, University of Natal in 1977. Commenced Specialist Cardiology Practice at Netcare St Augustine‘s Hospital in 1986. Instrumental in opening the Cardiac Units at Chatsmed Hospital, Victoria Hospital in Tongaat, KZN, South Africa. One of the founder doctors of the Cardiac Unit at Netcare Umhlanga Hospital, KZN, South Africa. Presently in partnership with Dr Connel Barnabas, Dr Joe McKibbin and Dr Aveen Mahabal.

The partnership has practices at Netcare St Augustine‘s Hospital, Netcare Umhlanga Hospital, Netcare Alberlito Hospital and a practice in the in the south coast of KZN, viz. Shelley Beach. Dr YT Singh was a Director of Gateway Private Hospital and was instrumental in obtaining the licence for gateway Private Hospital and establishing that hospital.

He is Director of Cardiac Mobile. Pty. Ltd. He has been instrumental in starting the Diabetic Cardio–metabolic unit at Netcare Umhlanga Hospital, Durban and instrumental in starting the first Cardio–oncology Unit in South Africa, and in fact, the continent of Africa. He is President of the Cardio–oncology Society of Southern Africa (COSOSA). This is the first Cardio–oncology Society in South Africa and in fact, Southern Africa. He has also been appointed to the Board of the International Cardio–oncology Society (ICOS).

Other than his active role in Clinical Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology, he has a deep interest in Diabetes and Cardio–metabolic diseases and works closely with the Endocrinologists, viz. Dr Sedeshan Govender and Dr Fraser Pirie at Netcare Umhlanga Hospital.

His deep interest in Cardio–oncology has resulted in his establishment of the first Cardio–oncology Society. The intention is to make sure that the Cardio–oncology group will expand to make sure that the cancer patient not only receives optimal cancer treatment, but to make sure that the cancer patient does not succumb from cardio–vascular complications as a result of chemotherapy and radiation.

Dr Dan Lenihan is a cardio-oncologist specialising in cardiology, heart disease and advanced heart failure, at Saint Francis Healthcare System, Cape Girardeau, US.

He is a co-Founder and Board Member of the International Cardio-Oncology Society (ICOS), which is an international professional association whose primary goal is to eliminate cardiac disease as a barrier to effective cancer therapy. 

He is actively involved in patient care as the Director of the Cardio-Oncology Programme, Cardiac Rehabilitation, and the Heart Failure clinic at Saint Francis Healthcare System.