Synopsis:
This talk will review the following:
1. How the successful treatment of childhood cancer has been associated with oncologic cure rates improving from <5% to >80% during the past 45 years.
2. The costs of improved oncologic efficacy are increased toxicities and late effects for long term survivors, of which cardiotoxicity is a common late effect.
3. The paradigm for successful treatment of childhood cancer has shifted from a focus on oncologic cure alone to a focus on the survivor’s quality of life over a lifespan defined as the balance between maixmizing oncologic efficacy while minimizing toxicities and late effects.
Speaker:
Professor Lipshultz is a graduate of Dartmouth Medical School.  He completed a residency in paediatrics at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital/Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and a fellowship in paediatric cardiology at Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School.
Professor Lipshultz’s primary research interests are in the paediatric cardiomyopathies, especially those of genetic/metabolic, toxic or infections/inflammatory etiologies.  Clinical research on determinants of outcome for children with cardiovascular disease has been a major focus of interest as well.