Echocardiograms in cancer patients prior to cardiotoxic chemotherapy provide more useful clinical information than the more commonly-used gated blood pool scans (GBPS), according to Australian research.
Researchers from the cardiology and oncology departments at Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide said the main limitation of GPBS was that it could only estimate ejection fraction, and could not detect diastolic dysfunction or other abnormalities which could influence decisions about chemotherapy.
They retrospectively audited more than 200 echocardiograms ordered by medical oncologists during a 36-month period. Almost 90% of patients were female with a mean age of 55 years, and three-quarters had breast cancer.
The researchers hypothesised that a baseline echo could detect clinically relevant abnormalities other than ejection fraction in at least...
This site is intended for Registered Medical Practitioners.
To make the most of Oncology Update, you need to be logged in.