Klin Onkol 2009; 22(1): 34-37.
Summary:
Backgrounds: Anthracyclines are known cardiotoxic agents. Anthracycline therapy increases the risk of long-term cardiac adverse effects in oncology patients.
Case report: We report the case of a young male patient with severe congestive heart failure. The patient was treated for childhood acute myeloid leukemia by chemotherapy containing anthracyclines. Manifest dilated cardiomyopathy was developing ten years after the termination of chemotherapy with symptoms of left ventricular heart failure. Seventeen years following the end of cytostatic therapy the patient underwent heart transplantantation as ultimum refugium.
Conclusions: Late cardiac complications may become a serious therapeutic problem. In such cases, the heart transplantation seems to be the only effective approach otherwise terminal forms of the heart failure
