Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 7, 2026
Pre-clinical Evaluation of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors for Treatment of Acute Leukemia
Published on: September 18, 2013
A prospective evaluation of cardiac function in patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia treated with imatinib
Zahra Raisi Estabragh1, Katy Knight, Sarah J Watmough
1Department of Haematology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
Insights
Imatinib treatment for chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) did not show evidence of heart damage in a prospective study. This suggests imatinib cardiotoxicity is not a significant clinical concern for CML patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Oncology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- In vitro studies indicated potential imatinib cardiotoxicity.
- Previous retrospective studies did not detect clinical heart failure but lacked assessment for subtle cardiac damage.
Purpose of the Study:
- To prospectively evaluate cardiac function in chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) patients treated with imatinib.
- To investigate potential subtle myocardial damage associated with long-term imatinib therapy.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cardiac assessment in 59 CML patients receiving imatinib.
- Utilized echocardiography and Multiple Gated Acquisition (MUGA) scanning.
- MUGA scans were repeated after 12 months of treatment.
Main Results:
- No evidence of myocardial deterioration was observed at baseline.
- No myocardial deterioration was detected over 12 months of imatinib treatment.
- Echocardiography and MUGA scans showed preserved cardiac function.
Conclusions:
- Imatinib treatment does not appear to cause significant myocardial deterioration in CML patients.
- Cardiotoxicity is not a major clinical concern for imatinib therapy in CML.
- Findings support the continued use of imatinib for CML management without undue cardiac risk.
Abstract:
In vitro studies have suggested that imatinib may be toxic to cardiac myocytes. Though retrospective studies have not shown clinical heart failure, these did not look for subtle cardiac damage. We have carried out a prospective cardiac assessment in 59 chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) patients treated with imatinib for a median of 3.4 years, using echocardiography and MUGA scanning, with the latter repeated after a further year. We report no evidence of myocardial deterioration, either at baseline or over 12 months of imatinib treatment. Imatinib cardiotoxicity is not an important clinical consideration for CML patients or their advisors.
More Related Videos
07:38Intracellular Phosphoflow Cytometry of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patient-Derived Xenotransplants
Published on: June 6, 2025
08:03Hybrid Cell Analysis System to Assess Structural and Contractile Changes of Human iPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes for Preclinical Cardiac Risk Evaluation
Published on: October 20, 2022