Trasplante cardiaco en pacientes con cardiotoxicidad inducida por antraciclinas

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to describe the clinical and imaging characteristics and the evolution of heart transplantation patients due to anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy. METHODS Patients with a diagnosis of ACM who received a heart transplantation in our institution in the period of November 2009-April 2021 were included. Clinical characteristics, pre-transplant studies, and clinical outcomes after transplantation were collected retrospectively from the electronic medical record. RESULTS A total of 11 patients were included in the study. The median age at the time of cancer diagnosis was 15 years (IQR 10-37 years), while the median age at the time of heart transplant was 56 years (IQR 39-62 years). Regarding post-transplant outcomes, three patients died in the post-operative period. One died 4 years after the intervention due to chronic rejection, while the other seven had a favorable evolution. No oncological relapse was observed with a median follow-up of 2.5 years (IQR 1.86-3.85 years). CONCLUSION End-stage anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy can occur many years after chemotherapy treatment, so close cardiovascular follow-up is extremely important. Heart transplantation is a treatment option after an exhaustive multidisciplinary evaluation, to minimize the risk of oncological relapse.