First report of the incidence of anthracycline-related cardiac dysfunction in Uganda

Anthracyclines are commonly used first-line chemotherapeutic agents, although their use may be hampered by adverse events such as cardiac dysfunction. A recently published study by Cape Heart Institute PhD student Dr Ranio Zhang Wanzhu (supervisors: Prof. Karen Sliwa and Dr Feriel Azibani) describes the implementation of internationally recommended cardiac surveillance for the first time in Uganda. In her research, Dr Wanzhu reported on the incidence of anthracycline-related cardiac dysfunction in Uganda – cardiac monitoring of over 200 Ugandan cancer patients revealed that 35% of the patients had subtle heart-cell injury and 8.8% had a more severe form of heart-cell injury.

Patients with HIV or worse pre-treatment heart function were at greater risk of treatment-induced cardiac dysfunction. This study indicates the importance of cardiac surveillance in cancer patients receiving anthracycline treatment, to identify high-risk patients and prevent serious heart injury. The article can be found here