Use of external defibrillator jacket to facilitate safe delivery of radiotherapy for lung cancer – A report of two cases

The increasing rate of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation coupled with shared risk factors between lung cancer and ischemic cardiac disease means that the need for radiotherapy in cardiac device patients is set to become commonplace. We describe two cases referred to our electrophysiology service over a 6-month period. Both had been diagnosed with lung cancer in tissue directly posterior to a previously implanted ICD device. The cases highlight the risks to device function caused by ionizing radiation, the practical difficulties and ethical dilemmas of delivering radiotherapy to cardiac device patients safely and a novel setting for the use of a wearable defibrillator system.