Maëlle de Ville de Goyet

Cardiotoxicity of Childhood Cancer Treatment: Update and Current Knowledge on Long-term Follow-up

Therapeutic advances in paediatric oncology allowed increasing numbers of children to survive until adulthood. However, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are potentially cardiotoxic and contribute to a significant morbidity and mortality, cardiovascular events remaining the leading cause of death among survivors. This review summarizes the physiopathology of treatment-related cardiovascular diseases, their incidence, and the risk factors associated with each specific therapy. Few studies have investigated the cardiac outcomes of adult surviving from childhood cancers but all demonstrated a substantial risk for late cardiac effects. Cardiovascular monitoring, prevention, and early detection of cardiac dysfunction are, therefore, the keystones of an improved long-term outcome.

Iron overload in children undergoing cancer treatments.

Iron overload is responsible for severe morbidity and mortality in polytransfused patients. Although repeated blood transfusions are needed during the treatment of most cancers, pediatric patients are not routinely screened for subsequent iron overload.

Prospective cardiac MRI for the analysis of biventricular function in children undergoing cancer treatments

Cardiotoxicity is one of the most serious long‐term complications in childhood cancer survivors. Measurement of the left ventricular ejection and shortening fraction remains the most common screening tool for cardiac systolic dysfunction. However, M‐mode echocardiography can be viewed as a crude approach as refined strategies are now available. The aim of this prospective study was to determine the role of cardiac MRI in the detection of subclinical left or right ventricular dysfunction as well as the prevalence of myocardial scaring in patients undergoing cancer treatments.

Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) as a first-line approach to subclinical heart failure in children undergoing cardiotoxic chemotherapy

Background Cardiotoxic chemotherapy including anthracyclines remains a standard of care in paediatric cancers. Recent data suggest that heart failure secondary to chemotherapy is, to some degree, reversible, but requires early detection and prompt intervention. Since a substantial proportion of paediatric patients still develop heart failure, this work aims to develop a follow-up protocol based on cMRI to evaluate the patient’s cardiovascular function and haemodynamics, as well as myocardial iron overload, perfusion and viability.