Key clinical point: As treatment exposure for pediatric cancer patients has changed, the number of adult survivors who experienced major cardiac events has declined between 1970 and 1999.

Major finding: Cumulative heart failure incidence across 20 years was 0.69% for survivors in the 1970s, 0.74% for survivors in the 1980s and 0.54% in the 1990s, while the 20-year cumulative incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD) was 0.38% for survivors treated in the 1970s, 0.24% for survivors in the 1980s, and 0.19% for survivors in the 1990s.

Study details: A retrospective analysis of 23,462 adult 5-year cancer survivors in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study treated for leukemia, brain cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, renal tumors, neuroblastoma, soft-tissue sarcomas, and bone sarcomas between January 1970 and December 1999.

Disclosures: This study was funded by grants from the National Cancer Institute, Cancer Center Support (CORE) to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital ,and American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities. The authors of the study and the editorial reported no relevant conflicts of interest.