Radiation therapy is rapidly expanding beyond its historical role in cancer management, with emerging therapeutic applications intentionally targeting cardiac tissue. Innovations such as cardiac radioablation and thermoablation are opening new avenues for the treatment of arrhythmias, selected cardiac tumors, and other heart conditions, providing non-invasive alternatives for complex patient populations. However, robust clinical evidence, clear protocols, and multidisciplinary strategies for applying these interventions remain limited, and the unique biological responses of cardiac tissue to different radiation modalities are not yet fully understood.

This Research Topic seeks to unite researchers and clinicians in exploring the full spectrum of intentional and unintentional cardiac effects of radiation oncology—from basic mechanisms and clinical outcomes to the practical strategies, workflows, and guidelines that shape patient care.

We welcome original research, reviews, protocols, and perspectives that address:
• Therapeutic uses of radiation in cardiac diseases: Radioablation, thermoablation, and other advanced modalities (e.g., for arrhythmias, cardiac tumors, structural heart diseases).
• Mechanistic insights into how radiation interacts with cardiac tissue at the molecular, cellular, or organ level—covering both therapeutic and off-target effects.
• Clinical protocols, workflow studies, and real-world implementation of emerging cardiac-oriented radiation techniques, including patient selection, safety, imaging, dosimetry, and multidisciplinary cooperation.
• Comparative outcomes and best practice recommendations: Effectiveness, risks, patient-reported outcomes, and case series describing successes and challenges of cardiac radiation interventions in diverse clinical scenarios.
• Preventing, mitigating, or managing unintended cardiac effects in the context of intentional radiation use: combining risk reduction with therapeutic benefit.

Submissions should emphasize clinical or translational relevance and advance the understanding or application of radiation-based therapies in cardiac care. General work on cancer therapy-related cardiotoxicity not linked to therapeutic cardiac interventions will be deprioritized. By fostering collaboration across radiation oncology, cardiology, and allied specialties, this collection aims to bridge knowledge gaps, promote evidence-based practice, and broaden treatment options for patients with cardiac disease.

Please note: manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics, computational analysis, or predictions of public databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent clinical or patient cohort, or biological validation in vitro or in vivo, which are not based on public databases) are not suitable for publication in this journal.

Are you interested in contributing a manuscript to this Research Topic?

Use of Radiation in Cardiac Tissue: Mechanisms, Therapeutic Applications, Protocols, and Clinical Outcomes