Identifying early-stage heart failure among cancer survivors

Doctor Cheng Hwee Soh, The University of Melbourne

Postdoctoral Fellowship

Years funded: 2026 - 2027

Thanks to major advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment, more people are surviving cancer than ever before. However, many cancer survivors face long-term health issues after their treatment—especially heart problems. In fact, heart disease is now one of the leading causes of death in cancer survivors, with heart failure being a common and serious complication.

Heart failure often develops slowly and silently, without any symptoms. By the time symptoms appear, damage to the heart may already be advanced. In contrast, early detection provides an opportunity to start treatment to prevent progression to irreversible damage. Unfortunately, there is currently no standard method to decide which cancer survivors should be screened for early heart problems, and existing tests like echocardiograms are expensive and not always accessible.

To address this gap, this project will test two new tools to help identify cancer survivors at risk of early heart damage. The first is a heart risk score developed specifically for cancer survivors, based on simple health information collected during a regular medical visit. The second is our newly developed tool that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to interpret a standard electrocardiogram (ECG) and detect subtle signs of heart dysfunction. While both tools require further validation in cancer survivorship cohort, they are easy to use, quick, and can be implemented in general practitioners (GP) or community care settings.

I aim to invite at least 674 cancer survivors through social media and mailing lists from major public hospitals to take part in this study, where they will complete a series of questionnaires, health check, ECG, and heart scan. We will then test how accurate the new tools are in detecting early heart changes, and whether using them would be cost-effective for broader screening among all cancer survivors in the future.

The results from this study could help create simple and effective heart screening programs for cancer survivors, catching heart problems early and allowing timely care. If successful, the next step will be a larger study testing whether this Australia-first screening approach improves access to treatment, both the prescription rate of preventative treatment and adherence rate to treatment, ultimately leading to better heart health in the long term.

I will share my findings with the public, healthcare providers, and cancer support organisations through reports, social media, and community forums. My goal is to ensure this research translates into real-world benefit for cancer survivors across Australia.