Abnormal cardiomarkers in leukemia patients treated with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Clinical cardiac complications in oncologic patients may develop from subclinical myocardial damage. Biomarkers N-terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and troponin T (cTnT) have been hypothesized to reflect preclinical cardiotoxicity earlier than echocardiography. The aim of this study was to assess prospectively the serial values of these cardiomarkers in leukemia patients treated with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Twenty-one patients who were treated with allogeneic HSCT for acute leukemia at mean age of 32.8 years (range: 19-58) were studied. The conditioning regimen included high-dose cyclophosphamide in combination with total body irradiation (TBI) or busulphan. All patients were treated with anthracyclines earlier (median cumulative dose 250 mg/m, range: 150-580). Cardiomarkers were measured before the preparative regimen (PR) and on days 1, 14 and 30 after HSCT. Their cardiac systolic function was assessed before PR, and 1-2 months after HSCT by echocardiography. The differences in NT-proBNP before PR and after HSCT were statistically significant (p250 mg/m vs ≤250 mg/m) Cardiac symptoms developed in 3/21 (14.3 %) patients (Tab. 1, Fig. 3, Ref. 36).