For cardiotoxicity of anticancer drugs are typical low levels of cTnT. The majorities of these troponins are bound to actin and are released slowly. This characteristic, along with the slow clearance of troponins from the body permits the detection of

not only acute damage but also of ongoing injury [19]. Baseline plasma hs-cTnT levels were elevated in 5 (13,5%) patients which might be associated with previous anthracycline exposure. Persistent low-level elevations at selleck chemicals least 30 days after HSCT have been observed in our study in almost one third of patients, suggesting prolonged effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy on the myofibrillar system of cardiomyocytes. Only some authors have demonstrated the role of cardiac

troponins in detection of cardiotoxicity after allogeneic HSCT [13, 20–22]. In fact, several studies have already shown continuous damage of chemotherapy or radiotherapy to the cardiac myofibrillar system [23–25]. In our study, levels of NT-proBNP showed positive correlation with hs-cTnT, which might indicate a relationship Autophagy Compound Library screening between the degree of structural myocyte damage and functional myocardial impairment. These observations were underscored by the echocardiographic studies which did reveal significant changes in systolic and diastolic parameters. Conclusions Persistent elevations in cardiac biomarkers may reflect the presence of an underlying reduced functional myocardial reserve or reduced cardiac tolerance to cardiac stressors. Serial measurements of plasma NT-proBNP Meloxicam and hs-cTnT concentrations might be a useful tool for identification of patients at risk of developing cardiotoxicity after allogeneic HSCT and requiring cardiological follow up. Further studies are needed to clarify whether combination of both biomarkers improve detection of cardiotoxicity. Continued follow up is required to

bring more insight into the predictive value of these biomarkers. Acknowledgements The authors thank Marek Polomsky, M.D. from the University of Rochester, New York, USA for revision of the manuscript. This work was supported by a grant from the Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Health, Slovak Republic 2007/42-UK-18. References 1. Lodi D, Iannitti T, Palmieri B: Stem cells in clinical practice: applications and warnings. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2011, 30:9.PubMedCrossRef 2. Bhatia S, Francisco L, Carter A, Sun CL, Baker KS, Gurney JG, McGlave PB, Nademanee A, O’Donnell M, Ramsay NK, Robison LL, Snyder D, Stein A, Forman SJ, Weisdorf DJ: Late mortality after hematopietic stem cell transplantation and functional status of long-term survivors: report from the Bone Marrow Transplant Survivor Study. Blood 2007, 110:3784–3791.PubMedCrossRef 3.