Preventing Cardiac Sequelae in Pediatric Cancer Survivors

Summary

Cancer therapy can place childhood cancer survivors at increased risk for heart disease which can lead to significant illness or early death. Interventions that occur late in the evolution of treatment-related heart disease are usually ineffective at preventing its progression to death or heart transplant. Our team will work in several research cores to test new imaging and biomarker methods that will lead to earlier detection of heart disease before clinical symptoms develop or it become apparent on standard imaging tests. We will evaluate the importance of genetic differences between individuals in determining who is at greatest risk of developing heart disease as a result of exposure to cardiotoxic agents. We will combine this genetic information with the novel imaging and biomarker methods to predict which children are at particular risk. These vulnerable children can then be targeted by modifying their cancer therapy to reduce their exposure to cardiac toxins, or introducing medications that protect the heart from chemotherapy damage. This team brings together the expertise of clinicians and scientists in pediatric oncology, pediatric and adult cardiology, radiation oncology, genetics, and biostatistics. This is a cross-Canada initiative that will leverage the latest knowledge about cardiac toxicity and create a resource for ongoing research into this important cause of morbidity and mortality in childhood cancer survivors.

Conditions

• Anthracycline-induced Cardiotoxicity

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• Ontario Institute for Cancer Research

  collaborator OTHER

• Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario

  collaborator OTHER

• C17 Council

  collaborator OTHER

• Ottawa Heart Institute Research Corporation

  collaborator OTHER

• Montreal Heart Institute

  collaborator OTHER

• McMaster Children's Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario

  collaborator OTHER

• London Health Sciences Centre

  collaborator OTHER

• Children's Hospital of Orange County

  collaborator OTHER

• Princess Margaret Hospital, Canada

  collaborator OTHER

• The Hospital for Sick Children

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Paul C Nathan, M.D. · The Hospital for Sick Children

• Mark Greenberg, M.D. · The Hospital for Sick Children

• Seema Mital, M.D. · The Hospital for Sick Children

• Luc Mertens, M.D. · The Hospital for Sick Children

• Paul Kantor, M.D. · University of Alberta/Stollery Children's Hospital

• Peter Liu, M.D. · Ottawa Heart Institute

Eligibility

Max Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2012-12-31

Primary Completion

2018-09-30

Completion

2018-09-30

Countries

• United States
• Canada

Study Locations