Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

Abstract

There are over 270,000 childhood cancer survivors in the US. Of these survivors, more than 50% have been treated with anthracyclines and are at risk of developing progressive cardiotoxicity. Novel cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) techniques are now able to reliably detect diffuse myocardial fibrosis and changes in regional myocardial function. We hypothesized that these novel CMRI techniques will identify occult asymptomatic cardiotoxicity in a cohort of childhood cancer survivors with normal global systolic function.

In this study we demonstrate that changes in T1 mapping-derived relaxation time and left ventricular myocardial peak circumference strain are present in asymptomatic post-chemotherapy childhood patients who have normal standard CMRI parameters. Circumferential strain analysis and measurement of the T1 myocardial relaxation time by CMRI may accurately identify occult cardiovascular dysfunction in patients exposed to high dose anthracyclines. Thus, this may aid in the evaluation of therapies aimed at reducing adverse cardiac remodeling and preventing heart failure in childhood cancer survivors exposed to anthracyclines.

Comments

J Cardiovasc Magn Reson. 2013; 15(Suppl 1): P163. Published online 2013 January 30. doi: 10.1186/1532-429X-15-S1-P163 PMCID: PMC3559719

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