Discoveries
Medicine may decrease the risk of heart damage in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia
A new medicine can help children with a common form of leukemia avoid acute heart damage—a possible side effect of chemotherapy used to fight the disease.
Stephen E. Sallan , MD
That's the conclusion of a recent multicenter study led by researchers at Dana-Farber. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the project found that a novel medication called dexrazoxane reduces the chances of near-term heart problems in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who are treated with the chemotherapy agent doxorubicin (Adriamycin). Future investigations will explore whether the drug protects patients' hearts against long-term damage as well.
The study involved 200 patients under age 18 who were diagnosed with especially severe cases of ALL. Of the patients who received doxorubicin alone, half had elevated levels of a protein that signals heart damage, versus 21 percent of those who received doxorubicin and dexrazoxane. Extremely high levels of the protein—indicating more severe heart muscle injury—occurred in 32 percent of the doxorubicin-only patients, but in just 10 percent of those who had taken the protective drug.
"This isn't a perfect solution, but it is promising," says Dana-Farber's Chief of Staff, Stephen E. Sallan, MD, who led the study. "The findings demonstrate that it is possible to decrease some of this therapy's toxic effects on the heart."
