Survivors of Childhood Cancer With High Anthracycline Exposure: Can a Beta-Blocker Improve Cardiac Function?
In a U.S./Canadian phase IIb trial (PREVENT-HF) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Armenian et al found that the beta-blocker carvedilol did not significantly improve cardiac function—measured as standardized left ventricular wall thickness–dimension ratio Z score (LVWT/Dz)—vs placebo in survivors of childhood cancer with high levels of exposure to anthracyclines.