Young cancer patients at risk of heart failure due to drugs
Reported September 03, 2009
Some older cancer drugs can damage heart cells leading to heart failure, where the organ does not pump as efficiently.
The condition is difficult to treat and can require a heart transplant in severe cases.
As more children and young people survive their cancer doctors are finding they are developing heart failure in middle age, experts at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona said.
Around 2,000 people aged between 13 and 24 are diagnosed with cancer each year in Britain.
Certain cancers such of the soft tissues, blood cancer, breast and ovarian cancer are treated with older anti-cancer drugs known as anthracyclines. These drugs are not as good as newer ones at targetting cancer cells and can damage heart cells.
One in ten people treated with the drugs will develop heart failure ten or 20 years later, research has shown.
Dr Federico Quaini, an oncologist from Parma in Italy, told the conference: “More and more we are seeing paediatric cancer survivors who are now in their 30s and 40s and whose only option is a heart transplant.”
Doctors should be aware of the problem and monitor cancer survivors for signs of heart failure, they said.
Symptoms include breathlessness, swollen ankles and becomed tired easily. There are around 700,000 people living with heart failure in Britain. It can br brought on by a previous heart attack, infections, excessive alcohol consumption and high blood pressure.
Dr Quaini said cancer patients should have their heart health assessed before treatment so attempts can be made to protect the heart from damage. Studies are underway on treatments to protect the heart during cancer treatment, he said.
Dr Thomas Suter, a cardiologist from the Swiss Cardiovascular Centre in Bern, said: “Oncologists need to identify the patients who are likely to have trouble and know exactly when to alert the cardiologists to prevent damage.
“The problem, particularly with the older drugs, is that once damage has occurred it cannot be reversed.