Aims:
In cancer patients with cardiomyopathy related to anthracyclines and/or trastuzumab, data on late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) on cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) are conflicting, with a prevalence of 0-100%. The patterns of LGE are also poorly described. We aimed to investigate these topics in a large cohort of consecutive cancer patients with suspected cardiotoxicity from anthracyclines and/or trastuzumab.
Methods and Results:
We studied 298 patients, analyzed the prevalence, patterns, and correlates of LGE, and identified their causes. We compared the findings with those from 100 age-matched cancer patients who received neither anthracyclines nor trastuzumab. Overall, 31 (10.4%) patients who received anthracyclines and/or trastuzumab had LGE. The LGE had widely varying extents (3.9-34.7%) and locations (all 17 left ventricular segments were involved). It was in an ischemic pattern in 20/31 (64.5%) patients. There was an alternative explanation for the non-ischemic LGE in 7/11 (63.6%) patients. In the patients who received neither anthracyclines nor trastuzumab, the prevalence of LGE was higher at 27.0%, while the extent of LGE and the proportion with ischemic LGE were not different.
Conclusions:
Treatment with anthracyclines and/or trastuzumab is unlikely to be associated with LGE because LGE was present in only a minority, the LGE did not fit into a single profile that could be attributed to cancer treatment-related cardiotoxicity, the LGE had alternative explanations in almost all cases, and LGE was also present in cancer patients who received neither anthracyclines nor trastuzumab. Absence of LGE can differentiate anthracycline- or trastuzumab-related cardiomyopathy from unrelated cardiomyopathies.
Myocardial Damage Detected by Late Gadolinium Enhancement Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Is Associated With Subsequent Hospitalization for Heart Failure
