Screening for Left Ventricular Dysfunction in Childhood Cancer Survivors Who Received Anthracyclines

Because childhood cancer survivors who were treated with anthracyclines are at high risk for left ventricular dysfunction and subsequent congestive heart failure (CHF), the Children's Oncology Group (COG) has made specific recommendations on screening for asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction (ALVD). The recommendations suggest intervals for screening (usually by echocardiography) ranging from annually to every 5 years, depending on the patient's age at time of treatment, history of receiving radiation therapy, and total anthracycline dose. The implicit assumption is that detection of ALVD will result in treatment that will delay onset of symptomatic systolic CHF. Now, researchers have evaluated the effectiveness of these recommendation…