Noninvasive evaluation of chronic cumulative and acute cardiotoxicity induced by anthracycline in children with acute leukemia. Assessment of mainly left ventricular contractile state by M mode echocardiography

Abstract

The cardiotoxic effects of Daunomycin (DM) and Adriamycin (ADR), Anthracyclines (ATC), were studied mainly by echocardiography to evaluate their chronic cumulative cardiotoxicity and acute cardiotoxicity during consolidation therapy. Electrocardiographic findings were less sensitive and therefore less reliable for evaluation of the chronic cumulative cardiotoxicity and acute cardiotoxicity induced by ATCs during consolidation therapy. With echocardiography ESS/ESVI, the index of the left ventricular contraction, had the highest sensitivity among indices for cardiotoxicity. SP was useful for easy measurement and calculation of cardiotoxicity. Evaluation of the chronic cumulative cardiotoxicity of ATC drugs indicated that cumulative doses of 300 mg/m2 or more resulted in abnormally low ESS/ESVI levels suggesting cardiotoxicity in many cases, and doses of 500 mg/m2 or more caused abnormally low levels in all cases. Evaluation of acute cardiotoxicity showed that pest-consolidation therapy ESS/ESVI levels were significantly lower than pre-consolidation therapy levels in the group treated with doses of 500 mg/m2 or more, but the condition was reversible except in those patients with heart failure. As for the relation between cumulative doses and cardiotoxity, the indices studied showed no differences between DM and ADR. These results indicate that careful follow-up mainly by echocardiography is required after doses reaching 300 mg/m2 or more of ATC drugs.