{"id":437,"date":"2025-07-04T15:07:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T13:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bcco.abako.be\/about-us\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T13:58:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:58:09","slug":"about-us","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bcco.abako.be\/en\/about-us\/","title":{"rendered":"About us"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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About us<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Belgian Council on
Cardio-Oncology<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Cardio-oncology is becoming an important public health priority in Belgium. Today, an estimated 200,000 people are living five years after a cancer diagnosis, with cardiovascular disease being one of their leading long-term risks \u2013 often persisting many years after the cancer has been cured.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\u201cWe aim at harmonizing the care of the patients suffering from cardiac toxicities related to anticancer treatments.\u201d<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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What is cardio-oncology<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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There is growing evidence that cancer and cardiovascular disease frequently coexist, as they share common risk factors<\/b> such as age, smoking, obesity and inactivity. Anticancer treatments also play a key role. They can cause both early and delayed cardiotoxicities. While some of these effects are well recognized, the expanding use of novel cancer therapies has led to an increase in unexpected cardiac complications<\/b>.<\/p>

Together, these challenges highlight the need for a dedicated and rapidly evolving field: cardio-oncology, which integrates specialized expertise, advanced diagnostics and close collaboration between cardiology and oncology <\/b>to improve long-term cardiovascular health in patients with cancer.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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History<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Belgian Council on Cardio-Oncology was created in February 2020 to stimulate research, teaching, knowledge exchange and educational activities nationwide, with a focus on both acute and longterm cardiovascular complications of cancer treatments.<\/p>

The Council is a constituent body of the Belgian Society of Cardiology (BSC) and gathers experts from Belgian universities and other hospitals\u2019 cardiology and medical oncology \/hematology departments.<\/p>

In addition, it aims at harmonizing the care of the patients suffering from cardiac toxicities related to anticancer treatments through the transposition of international guidelines into local protocols.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Reference: Lancellotti P, De Pauw M, Claeys M.\u00a0Cardio-oncology: where do we stand for in Belgium?<\/a>\u00a0Acta Cardiologica 2020:1-5.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Board<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Chairperson<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Constantijn Franssen <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Cardiologist, UZ Antwerpen<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Treasurer <\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Berlinde von Kemp <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Cardiologist, UZ Brussel<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Active members (in alphabetical order): <\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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  • Evandro de Azambuja<\/strong>,
    Oncologist, Institut Jules Bordet, HUB, Universit\u00e9 Libre de Bruxelles<\/li>
  • S\u00e9bastien Anguille<\/strong>,
    Hematologist, UZ Antwerpen<\/li>
  • Elisa Agostinetto<\/strong>,
    Oncologist, Institut Jules Bordet, HUB, Universit\u00e9 Libre de Bruxelles<\/li>
  • Leticia Barrios<\/strong>,
    Cardiologist, Sint-Trudo Ziekenhuis Sint-Truiden, Sint-Truiden<\/li>
  • Astrid De Meulenaere<\/strong>,
    Oncologist, AZ Maria Middelares Gent<\/li>
  • Ruta Jasaityte<\/strong>,
    Cardiologist, Hartcentrum Hasselt<\/li>
  • Nicolas Kint<\/strong>,
    Hematologist, UZ Gent<\/li>
  • Dorien Laenens<\/strong>,
    Cardiologist, AZ Sint Maarten, Machelen<\/li>
  • Evelyne Meekers<\/strong>,
    Cardiologist in Training, Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg, Genk<\/li>
  • Marie Monen<\/strong>,
    Cardiologist, ULi\u00e8ge<\/li>
  • Philippe Mortelmans<\/strong>,
    Cardiologist, Ziekenhuis aan de Stroom, Antwerpen<\/li>
  • Mai-Linh Nguyen Trung<\/strong>,
    Cardiologist, ULi\u00e8ge<\/li>
  • Petra Nijst<\/strong>,
    Cardiologist, Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg, Genk<\/li>
  • Konstantinos Papadimitriou<\/strong>,
    Oncologist, UZ Antwerpen<\/li>
  • H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Petitjean<\/strong>,
    Cardiologist, ULi\u00e8ge<\/li>
  • Sander Trenson<\/strong>,
    Cardiologist, AZ Sint-Jan Brugge<\/li>
  • Lucas Van Aalst<\/strong>,
    Cardiologist, UZ Leuven<\/li>
  • Laurent Vande Kerckhove<\/strong>,
    Cardiologist, H.H. Hartziekenhuis Mol<\/li>
  • Delphine Vervloet<\/strong>,
    Cardiologist, AZ Maria Middelares Gent<\/li>
  • Vibeke Vergote<\/strong>,
    Hematologist, UZ Leuven<\/li>
  • Fiona Trump<\/strong>,
    Cardiologist, AZ Maria Middelares Gent<\/li>
  • Tim Wessels<\/strong>,
    Oncologist, Limburgs Oncologisch Centrum<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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    Sponsors<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    We acknowledge with gratitude the support of our sponsors, which enabled the development of this website and other Council activities, without any influence on the content.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    About us Belgian Council on Cardio-Oncology Cardio-oncology is becoming an important public health priority in Belgium. Today, an estimated 200,000 people are living five years after a cancer diagnosis, with cardiovascular disease being one of their leading long-term risks \u2013 often persisting many years after the cancer has been cured. \u201cWe aim at harmonizing the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-437","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nAbout us - Belgian Council on Cardio-Oncology<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"About us - Belgian Council on Cardio-Oncology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"About us Belgian Council on Cardio-Oncology Cardio-oncology is becoming an important public health priority in Belgium. 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