Boy beats cancer but ‘cure’ hurts the heart

LITTLE hearts will be the focus of a new trial aimed at identifying those at risk of heart damage following cancer treatment.

The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute is leading a study to identify children and adults who are likely to develop heart disease post-treatment. The trial will use genetic biomarkers, or clues, and medical imaging to pinpoint which children are at risk, based on their genes, in the hope they can prevent or treat symptoms early on.

Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy successfully treat 80 per cent of children with cancer, but they can also damage heart tissue, causing lifelong effects.

MCRI Associate Professor Rachel Conyes said the study hoped to better understand why these debilitating diseases occurred. The study, called the Australian Cardio Oncology Registry (ACOR) Bio-bank study, is the first of its kind in Australia and the largest in the world.

James Bloor, 11, was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma in 2014 and underwent six months of chemotherapy. James (pictured) was “cured” in October of that year.

But last year he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy – which makes it harder for the heart to pump blood – as a result of the treatment which saved his life.

“It was every parent’s worst nightmare,” James’ mum Toni Bloor said. James now struggles doing everyday activities, such as walking to the shops. He has been put on a drug trial to see if it will help mend his heart.