A systematic review of long-term cardiotoxic effects of treatment in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Abstract As progress in medical interventions for childhood cancer advances, the number of survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is rising. Presently, the overall survival rate exceeds 90% over a five-year period. With this upward trend in survival rates, there’s a pressing neces...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Paige Johnson, Ellie Whitney, Coleton Evans, Donald Beam
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2025-07-01
Series:Molecular and Cellular Pediatrics
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40348-025-00196-y
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849769133746421760
author Paige Johnson
Ellie Whitney
Coleton Evans
Donald Beam
author_facet Paige Johnson
Ellie Whitney
Coleton Evans
Donald Beam
author_sort Paige Johnson
collection DOAJ
description Abstract As progress in medical interventions for childhood cancer advances, the number of survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is rising. Presently, the overall survival rate exceeds 90% over a five-year period. With this upward trend in survival rates, there’s a pressing necessity to investigate the enduring impacts of childhood cancer treatment. This systematic literature review focuses on the various long term cardiotoxic effects as a result of these treatments. The authors conducted a systematic review to identify studies that evaluated long-term cardiotoxic effects after anthracycline treatments among survivors of childhood ALL via PubMed search engine. Studies were included if ALL survivors were < 21 years old at the time of ALL diagnosis, an average of > 5 years post diagnosis and/or > 120 weeks post completion of consolidation therapy, compared with a healthy control population, and in remission during the assessment. Compared to matched control populations, survivors of childhood ALL had significantly higher rates of diastolic dysfunction and congestive heart failure. Additionally, female sex, younger age at diagnosis, and higher total dosing of anthracyclines administered during treatment led to significantly higher measures of cardiotoxicity. This study underscores the long-term cardiotoxic effects in ALL survivors, primarily linked to anthracycline use. Inconsistent detection of diastolic dysfunction via conventional echocardiogram necessitates regular monitoring of subclinical markers to prevent premature cardiac aging and heart failure. Future research should prioritize longitudinal studies to assess cardiotoxic effects throughout adult ALL survivors’ lifetimes, aiming to establish comprehensive follow-up guidelines.
format Article
id doaj-art-be4806aedac24c66af8e1deeae6bbd8f
institution DOAJ
issn 2194-7791
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher SpringerOpen
record_format Article
series Molecular and Cellular Pediatrics
spelling doaj-art-be4806aedac24c66af8e1deeae6bbd8f2025-08-20T03:03:33ZengSpringerOpenMolecular and Cellular Pediatrics2194-77912025-07-0112111110.1186/s40348-025-00196-yA systematic review of long-term cardiotoxic effects of treatment in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemiaPaige Johnson0Ellie Whitney1Coleton Evans2Donald Beam3Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at TCUAnne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at TCUAnne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at TCUAnne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at TCUAbstract As progress in medical interventions for childhood cancer advances, the number of survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is rising. Presently, the overall survival rate exceeds 90% over a five-year period. With this upward trend in survival rates, there’s a pressing necessity to investigate the enduring impacts of childhood cancer treatment. This systematic literature review focuses on the various long term cardiotoxic effects as a result of these treatments. The authors conducted a systematic review to identify studies that evaluated long-term cardiotoxic effects after anthracycline treatments among survivors of childhood ALL via PubMed search engine. Studies were included if ALL survivors were < 21 years old at the time of ALL diagnosis, an average of > 5 years post diagnosis and/or > 120 weeks post completion of consolidation therapy, compared with a healthy control population, and in remission during the assessment. Compared to matched control populations, survivors of childhood ALL had significantly higher rates of diastolic dysfunction and congestive heart failure. Additionally, female sex, younger age at diagnosis, and higher total dosing of anthracyclines administered during treatment led to significantly higher measures of cardiotoxicity. This study underscores the long-term cardiotoxic effects in ALL survivors, primarily linked to anthracycline use. Inconsistent detection of diastolic dysfunction via conventional echocardiogram necessitates regular monitoring of subclinical markers to prevent premature cardiac aging and heart failure. Future research should prioritize longitudinal studies to assess cardiotoxic effects throughout adult ALL survivors’ lifetimes, aiming to establish comprehensive follow-up guidelines.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40348-025-00196-y
spellingShingle Paige Johnson
Ellie Whitney
Coleton Evans
Donald Beam
A systematic review of long-term cardiotoxic effects of treatment in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Molecular and Cellular Pediatrics
title A systematic review of long-term cardiotoxic effects of treatment in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia
title_full A systematic review of long-term cardiotoxic effects of treatment in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia
title_fullStr A systematic review of long-term cardiotoxic effects of treatment in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia
title_full_unstemmed A systematic review of long-term cardiotoxic effects of treatment in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia
title_short A systematic review of long-term cardiotoxic effects of treatment in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia
title_sort systematic review of long term cardiotoxic effects of treatment in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s40348-025-00196-y
work_keys_str_mv AT paigejohnson asystematicreviewoflongtermcardiotoxiceffectsoftreatmentinsurvivorsofchildhoodacutelymphoblasticleukemia
AT elliewhitney asystematicreviewoflongtermcardiotoxiceffectsoftreatmentinsurvivorsofchildhoodacutelymphoblasticleukemia
AT coletonevans asystematicreviewoflongtermcardiotoxiceffectsoftreatmentinsurvivorsofchildhoodacutelymphoblasticleukemia
AT donaldbeam asystematicreviewoflongtermcardiotoxiceffectsoftreatmentinsurvivorsofchildhoodacutelymphoblasticleukemia
AT paigejohnson systematicreviewoflongtermcardiotoxiceffectsoftreatmentinsurvivorsofchildhoodacutelymphoblasticleukemia
AT elliewhitney systematicreviewoflongtermcardiotoxiceffectsoftreatmentinsurvivorsofchildhoodacutelymphoblasticleukemia
AT coletonevans systematicreviewoflongtermcardiotoxiceffectsoftreatmentinsurvivorsofchildhoodacutelymphoblasticleukemia
AT donaldbeam systematicreviewoflongtermcardiotoxiceffectsoftreatmentinsurvivorsofchildhoodacutelymphoblasticleukemia