Abstract

Introduction: Anthracyclines (ANT) and Herceptin (HER) are known to cause left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction and congestive heart failure (CHF). We aimed to identify the clinical risk factors associated with reduced LV function caused by one or both agents. Methods: We retrospectively examined our electronic records for patients that received ANT and/or HER from 2000-2013 and identified 3253 patients. 2704 were excluded for lack of a follow-up EF assessment (2699) or development of CAD (5) after the start of chemotherapy. Of the remaining 216 patients, 27 (12.5%) had a drop in EF after chemotherapy of >10% to below 50% and 185 (86.6%) did not. Kruskal Wallis test and Fisher exact test were utilized to estimate the difference between groups, and logistic regression model was used to predict a fall in EF. Results: More patients with a fall in EF had hypertension (HTN), hyperlipidemia (HL) and CAD (Table). A higher % of patients with a fall in EF received both HER and ANT as compared to ANT alone (36% vs 9.5% p=0.001). Higher use of liposomal doxorubicin was seen in the group with no reduction in EF. The median (IQR) time difference (days) between start of chemotherapy and reduced EF was 213 (76-761) and the doxorubicin dose in this group was 240 (128.5-254) mg/m2. On multivariate analysis hypertension and use of Herceptin remained independent predictors of EF fall. Conclusion: HTN, HL, CAD and concomitant HER use were univariate predictors of EF decline, while only HTN and HER were independent multivariate predictors. Given the prevalence of reduced EF at follow-up, late assessment of EF is indicated to avoid missing chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity.

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