Cardiac dysfunction appears to be prevalent in long-term survivors of adult-onset lymphoma who received treatment with anthracyclines, according to a study involving >200 individuals. The finding is independent of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) status. Participants comprised lymphoma survivors diagnosed >5 years prior who underwent HCT (n=78) or conventional therapy (n=77), as well as a group of matched controls (n=51). Among the results:

• At a median follow-up of ~9.5 years after diagnosis, 2 in every 10 lymphoma survivors experienced cardiac dysfunction.
• Lymphoma survivors were >6 times more likely to have cardiac dysfunction vs controls.
• There was a dose-dependent risk of cardiac dysfunction according to the cumulative anthracycline dose.
• There was no difference in the prevalence of cardiac dysfunction between patients treated conventionally or with HCT.
• Cardiac blood biomarker accuracy among asymptomatic patients was poor.

The authors noted that strategies to decrease heart failure in lymphoma survivors is increasingly important as more patients survive for longer periods.