A pioneering UK-wide research project is set to transform understanding of the long-term cardiovascular effects of chemotherapy, with experts led by the Academic Cardiovascular Unit (ACU) at The James Cook University Hospital launching what is believed to be the country's first national registry focused on anthracycline chemotherapy and heart health.
The initiative, known as the BHF COLLATE study, will recruit 200 patients from hospitals across the UK to create a comprehensive registry linking patient data with blood samples. Researchers hope the project will lay the foundations for future breakthroughs in identifying, preventing and treating heart-related complications associated with cancer treatment.
Anthracycline chemotherapy is widely used in the treatment of cancers including breast cancer, lymphoma and sarcoma. Across Durham and Tees Valley alone, around 1,000 adult patients receive anthracycline-based treatment every year.
As cancer survival rates continue to improve, healthcare professionals are increasingly focused on the long-term consequences of treatment, including the impact on cardiovascular health.
David Austin, consultant cardiologist and co-director of the ACU, said:
“More patients are surviving cancer therefore the late effects of cancer treatment are now becoming more important.
“A small proportion of patients can have significant heart-related side effects many years later such as an increased risk of heart failure and we need more information to help us evaluate this.
“We’re very excited to be leading this study. Survivorship issues in cancer are increasingly important and we hope this will be an important step towards improving heart health for patients undergoing chemotherapy.
“Cardiovascular teams do a lot of research and oncology teams do a lot of research, the challenge now is to work together.
"If we can create an upscaled national network this will help us identify who is most at risk and how best to tailor individual treatments.”
Funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), the study will collect blood samples from participants before and after chemotherapy treatment, followed by additional samples a year later. Patients may also undergo further cardiac imaging to assess any changes in heart function over time.
Researchers believe the programme could help identify genetic factors and biological markers linked to chemotherapy-related heart damage. This insight could ultimately support the development of more personalised cancer treatments while reducing the risk of long-term cardiovascular complications.
The collaboration brings together cardiology and oncology specialists from across the UK, reflecting a growing emphasis on cardio-oncology, a specialist field focused on managing the cardiovascular health of patients undergoing cancer treatment.
By establishing a scalable national research network, investigators hope to generate the evidence needed to better predict which patients face the greatest risk and develop targeted interventions that improve both cancer outcomes and long-term heart health.
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