This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

fact-checked

trusted source

proofread

World-first guidelines created to help prevent heart complications in children during cancer treatment

World-first guidelines created to help prevent heart complications in children during cancer treatment
The world's first international clinical guidelines to help prevent and treat heart complications in children undergoing cancer treatment have been created. Credit: Naval Surface Warriors

The world's first international clinical guidelines to help prevent and treat heart complications in children undergoing cancer treatment have been created.

The guidelines, published in JACC:Advances, cover cardiovascular disease assessment, screening and follow-up, for pediatric patients receiving with new molecular therapies, immunotherapy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

The expert consensus, led by researchers from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, has defined the high-risk group of cancer patients who should undergo a heart check-up, standardized an approach to screening and surveillance during treatment and provided recommendations to protect vulnerable young hearts.

Murdoch Children's Associate Professor Rachel Conyers said while international guidelines to monitor poor heart side effects during therapy exist for , none were specific to children.

Associate Professor Conyers said the success of new cancer drugs had increased the chances of cardiac side effects that occur early on during therapy, sometimes within days, which warranted closer heart health surveillance and earlier monitoring.

"Recent advances in treating childhood cancer have resulted in survival rates of more than 80 percent. However, improving serious health outcomes in survivors remains an important and essential focus and prevention is key," she said.

"Heart complications are a leading cause of death for childhood cancer survivors, second only to cancer relapse. Modern treatments including precision medicine have broadened the agents that can cause ."

Childhood cancer survivors are 15 times more likely to have heart failure and eight times more likely to have heart disease than the general population.

Associate Professor Conyers said the guidelines would be an indispensable tool for clinicians to significantly reduce the harmful impact of cancer drugs on children's hearts.

"The guidelines are a major advance for the cardio-oncology field as before this there was no defined approach for surveillance or follow up of during treatment despite new therapeutics having early such as , abnormal heart beats and ," she said.

The Australian and New Zealand expert group consisted of pediatric and adult cardiologists and pediatric oncologists who undertook a Delphi consensus approach across 11 areas of cardio-oncology care. The Australian New Zealand Children's Oncology Group endorsed the study with the guidelines useful for any tertiary institutes treating pediatric oncology patients or initiating cardio-oncology clinics.

More information: Claudia Toro et al, Cardio-Oncology Recommendations for Pediatric Oncology Patients, JACC: Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.jacadv.2022.100155

Citation: World-first guidelines created to help prevent heart complications in children during cancer treatment (2023, January 29) retrieved 29 March 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-01-world-first-guidelines-heart-complications-children.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Medical trial aims to identify those at risk of heart damage following cancer treatment

206 shares

Feedback to editors