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Anthracycline-Related Cardiotoxicity in Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Down Syndrome: A Literature Review

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Abstract

Pediatric patients with Down syndrome (DS) are at an increased risk of developing certain cancers. Specifically, patients with DS have a reported 10–20-fold increased risk of developing acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Anthracycline-based treatment regimens achieve good results in patients with DS and AML. It has been proposed that DS status constitutes a risk factor for the cardiotoxicity associated with the use of anthracyclines in the pediatric setting. However, published evidence pointing toward an increased risk of cardiotoxicity in patients with DS is relatively scarce and conflictive. This concise review compiles literature relating to the incidence of anthracycline-related cardiotoxicity in pediatric patients with DS. In general, reports from trials using anthracyclines at the maximum recommended dose showed increases in the incidence of anthracycline-related cardiotoxicity in patients with DS in comparison with trials that used anthracyclines at reduced doses. Evidence from the literature suggests that patients with DS can achieve favorable therapeutic outcomes after receiving treatment with reduced doses of anthracyclines to minimize the potential for cardiotoxicity. Further prospective trials, along with the available evidence, would assist the design of treatment protocols for patients with pediatric leukemias and DS.

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Acknowledgments

This review was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under awards R01GM073646 and R03HD076055. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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  1. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, The State University of New York at Buffalo, 470 Kapoor Hall, Buffalo, NY, 14214, USA

    Erik Hefti & Javier G. Blanco

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  1. Erik Hefti
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  2. Javier G. Blanco
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Correspondence to Javier G. Blanco.

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Hefti, E., Blanco, J.G. Anthracycline-Related Cardiotoxicity in Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Down Syndrome: A Literature Review. Cardiovasc Toxicol 16, 5–13 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12012-015-9307-1

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