Cardiotoxicity In Breast Cancer Patients Research Articles

Heart rate variability-based prediction of early cardiotoxicity in breast-cancer patients treated with anthracyclines and trastuzumab

BackgroundCardiotoxicity is a recognized complication in breast cancer (BC) patients undergoing chemotherapy with anthracyclines with or without trastuzumab. However, the prognostic value of heart rate variability (HRV) indexes for early cardiotoxicity development remains unknown.MethodsFifty BC patients underwent TTE assessment before and three months after chemotherapy. HRV indexes were obtained from continuous electrocardiograms in supine position with spontaneous breathing, active standing, and supine position with controlled breathing. The magnitude of change (Δ) between supine-standing and supine-controlled breathing was calculated. Variables were compared using t-test or ANOVA. Cardiotoxicity predictive value was assessed by ROC curve analysis. A p value of < 0.05 was considered significant.ResultsTTE revealed reduced left atrial conduit strain in the cardiotoxicity group. Mean heart rate increased during all maneuvers at follow-up, with no differences in HRV indexes between patients with or without cardiotoxicity. However, a lower Δ in supine-controlled breathing of several HRV indexes predicted early cardiotoxicity identified by echocardiography (e.g. SDNN ≤ -8.44 ms: Sensitivity = 75%, Specificity = 69%).ConclusionsBC patients treated with chemotherapy maintain cardiac autonomic responses to physiological stimuli after 3 months of chemotherapy. However, a lower Δ during active standing and controlled breathing before chemotherapy may predict early cardiotoxicity.

GDF-15 is a potential candidate biomarker for an elevated risk of cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant dual anti-HER2 therapy.

Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is a stress-responsive cytokine that regulates myocardial injury, cardiac overloading pressure, and inflammation and is related to the risk of cardiovascular diseases and events. The current study aimed to investigate the correlation of GDF-15 levels with clinical features, biochemical indices, and especially the risk of cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant dual anti-HER2 therapy. A total of 103 HER2-positive breast cancer patients who underwent neoadjuvant dual anti-HER2 therapy (trastuzumab and pertuzumab plus chemotherapy) were included. Serum GDF-15 levels before neoadjuvant treatment were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Cardiotoxicity was evaluated during neoadjuvant therapy by referring to a decline of ≥10 percentage points in the left ventricular ejection fraction from baseline to an absolute level less than 50%. GDF-15 exhibited a skewed distribution, with a median level of 714 (range: 207-1805) pg/mL. GDF-15 was positively correlated with age (p = 0.037), diabetes (p = 0.036), and the N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide level (p = 0.013) and positively correlated with the total cholesterol level (p = 0.086) and troponin T level (p = 0.082), but these correlations were not statistically significant. A total of 6.8% of patients experienced cardiotoxicity during neoadjuvant therapy. By comparison, the GDF-15 level was greater in patients who experienced cardiotoxicity than in those who did not (p = 0.008). A subsequent receiver operating characteristic curve revealed that GDF-15 predicted cardiotoxicity risk, with an area under the curve of 0.803 (95% CI: 0.664-0.939). After multivariate adjustment, GDF-15 independently predicted a greater risk of cardiotoxicity (p = 0.020). GDF-15 is a candidate biomarker for increased risk of cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant dual anti-HER2 therapy.

Identification of ADME genes polymorphic variants linked to trastuzumab-induced cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients: Case series of mono-institutional experience

BackgroundLong-term survival induced by anticancer treatments discloses emerging frailty among breast cancer (BC) survivors. Trastuzumab-induced cardiotoxicity (TIC) is reported in at least 5% of HER2+BC patients. However, TIC mechanism remains unclear and predictive genetic biomarkers are still lacking. Interaction between systemic inflammation, cytokine release and ADME genes in cancer patients might contribute to explain mechanisms underlying individual susceptibility to TIC and drug response variability. We present a single institution case series to investigate the potential role of genetic variants in ADME genes in HER2+BC patients TIC experienced. MethodsWe selected data related to 40 HER2+ BC patients undergone to DMET genotyping of ADME constitutive variant profiling, with the aim to prospectively explore their potential role in developing TIC. Only 3 patients (“case series”), who experienced TIC, were compared to 37 “control group” matched patients cardiotoxicity-sparing. All patients underwent to left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) evaluation at diagnosis and during anti-HER2 therapy. Each single probe was clustered to detect SNPs related to cardiotoxicity. ResultsIn this retrospective analysis, our 3 cases were homogeneous in terms of clinical-pathological characteristics, trastuzumab-based treatment and LVEF decline. We identified 9 polymorphic variants in 8 ADME genes (UGT1A1, UGT1A6, UGT1A7, UGT2B15, SLC22A1, CYP3A5, ABCC4, CYP2D6) potentially associated with TIC. ConclusionReal-world TIC incidence is higher compared to randomized clinical trials and biomarkers with potential predictive value aren’t available. Our preliminary data, as proof of concept, could suggest a predictive role of pharmacogenomic approach in the identification of cardiotoxicity risk biomarkers for anti-HER2 treatment.

Abstract 3625: Metabolic phenotypes of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients

Abstract Background. Doxorubicin (DOX) is a highly effective chemotherapy agent that is commonly used in combination with other chemotherapy regimens to treat a wide range of cancers, including 32% of breast cancer (BC) cases. Although DOX has greatly increased the number of long-term cancer survivors, some DOX recipients have experienced DOX-induced cardiotoxicity (DIC). Currently, there are no validated markers that can predict the early development of DIC. Cardiac troponin released by cardiomyocytes has been used in non-clinical studies as a marker of myocardial injury; however, the false positive rates are high, and the predictive value on cardiotoxicity is limited. Therefore, novel biomarkers of DIC are urgently needed to identify patients who are at an increased risk, allowing early detection of the cardiotoxicity before it causes permanent cardiac damage. Methods. Untargeted metabolomics profiling was performed for plasma samples from a cohort of 28 breast cancer patients who developed abnormal cardiac function (ABN) and those who maintained normal cardiac function (NML). Blood samples were collected before, during, and after DOX-containing chemotherapy. Using both baseline observations and pre-post changes, machine-learning techniques were used to identify metabolite markers that can be used as early indicators of DIC in BC patients. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was reported to evaluate the performance of significant metabolites, and metabolite set enrichment analysis (MSEA) and network analysis were used to extrapolate known associations between metabolites and diseases. Results. Significant separation of plasma metabolomics profiles between ABN and NML patients at baseline was observed. From 1,124 metabolites, abundance of 59 metabolites were found to differ between ABN and NML patients at baseline. Across all patients, levels of 78 metabolites changed between baseline and after the 1st chemotherapy cycle. Of the 6 metabolites identified in both baseline and pre-post data, ABN patients had higher levels of dicarboxylic acids suberate and sebacate derived from ω-oxidation of fatty acids at baseline than NML patients. Enrichment analysis on the metabolites from the pre-post analysis suggested myocardio injury and carnitine palmitoyltransferase deficiency. Network analysis of metabolite-disease interactions further suggests potential impact on neurological health after chemotherapy. Conclusion. The metabolomics phenotype identified is indicative of impaired beta-oxidation at baseline for ABN patients. In addition, our findings suggest neurotoxic effect from DOX, implicating the potential brain-heart axis involved behind the cardiotoxicity phenotype. Citation Format: Se-Ran Jun, Katherine Wallis, Reid D. Landes, Valentina K. Todorova, L. Joseph Su, Sam Makhoul, Ping-Ching Hsu. Metabolic phenotypes of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 3625.

A prospective randomized controlled trial to determine the safety and efficacy of extracorporeal shock waves therapy for primary prevention of subclinical cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients without a cardiovascular risk treated with doxorubicin.

Doxorubicin is a highly effective anti-cancer drug that causes left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and induces late-onset cardiomyopathy. However, an effective and clinically applicable preventive treatment is yet to be discovered. Cardiac-Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (C-ESWT) has been suggested to treat inflammatory and ischemic diseases and protect cardiomyocytes from doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy. This study aims to assess the safety and efficacy of C-ESWT in the prevention of subclinical cardiotoxicity. We enrolled 64 breast cancer patients. C-ESWT group 33 patients were treated with our C-ESWT (200 shots/spot at 0.09 mJ/mm2 for 20 spots, 3 times every six weeks). The efficacy endpoints were the difference in left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) change by 2D speckle tracking echocardiography and chemotherapy-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD). Echocardiography was performed on the baseline line and every 4 cycles of chemotherapy, followed by a follow-up 3,6 months after chemotherapy to compare the incidence of cardiomyopathy of subclinical LV dysfunction due to chemotherapy between the two groups. Participants averaged 50 ± 9 years in age, 100% female. In the results of follow-up 6 months after the end of chemotherapy, there was a significant difference in delta LVGLS between the C-ESWT group and the control group (LVGLS; -1.1 ± 10.9% vs. -11.5 ± 11.6% p-value; <0.001). A total of 23% (15 patients) of patients developed CTRCD (Control group; 13 vs. C-ESWT group; (2). C-ESWT was performed safely without any serious adverse events. In this prospective study, C-ESWT established efficacy in preventing subclinical cardiotoxicity, especially in breast cancer patients using doxorubicin chemotherapy, and the safety of C-ESWT. ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier (NCT05584163).

Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor and cardiotoxicity in doxorubicin-treated breast cancer patients: a prospective exploratory study

BackgroundSoluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor is an inflammatory biomarker that may prognosticate cardiovascular outcomes. We sought to determine the associations between soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor and established markers of cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients receiving doxorubicin.MethodsWe conducted a prospective cohort study of women with newly diagnosed breast cancer receiving standard-dose doxorubicin (240 mg/m2) at Rush University Medical Center and Rush Oak Park Hospital (Chicago, IL) between January 2017 and May 2019. Left ventricular ejection fraction, global longitudinal strain, and cardiac biomarkers (N-terminal prohormone B-type natriuretic peptide, troponin-I, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein) were measured at baseline and at intervals up to 12-month follow-up after end of treatment. The associations between soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor and these endpoints were evaluated using multivariable mixed effects linear regression.ResultsOur study included 37 women (mean age 47.0 ± 9.3 years, 60% white) with a median baseline soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor level of 2.83 ng/dL. No participant developed cardiomyopathy based on serial echocardiography by one-year follow-up. The median percent change in left ventricular strain was -4.3% at 6-month follow-up and absolute changes in cardiac biomarkers were clinically insignificant. There were no significant associations between soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor and these markers of cardiotoxicity (all p > 0.05).ConclusionsIn this breast cancer cohort, doxorubicin treatment was associated with a very low risk for cardiotoxicity. Across this narrow range of clinical endpoints, soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor was not associated with markers of subclinical cardiotoxicity. Further studies are needed to clarify the prognostic utility of soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor in doxorubicin-associated cardiomyopathy and should include a larger cohort of leukemia and lymphoma patients who receive higher doses of doxorubicin.

Breast Cancer and Therapy-Related Cardiovascular Toxicity.

The global incidence of breast cancer is on the rise, a trend also observed in South Korea. However, thanks to the rapid advancements in anticancer therapies, survival rates are improving. Consequently, post-treatment health and quality of life for breast cancer survivors are emerging as significant concerns, particularly regarding treatment-related cardiotoxicity. In this review, we delve into the cardiovascular complications associated with breast cancer treatment, explore surveillance protocols for early detection and diagnosis of late complications, and discuss protective strategies against cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients undergoing anticancer therapy, drawing from multiple guidelines.

A Systematic Review on Cardioprotection Strategies to Prevent Breast Cancer Therapy Cardiotoxicity

Background: Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignancy among women on a global scale, affecting an average of 2.1 million individuals annually. In addition, several studies have shown that it is often treated using chemotherapy drugs and targeted therapy, but these treatment methods have been reported to have side effects on the cardiovascular system. This indicates that there is a need to develop new and effective strategies to prevent the associated side effects. Therefore, this systematic review aims to obtain cardioprotection strategies to prevent cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy or targeted therapy. Methods: Data collection was carried out using the online database PubMed with keywords ((cardioprotection) AND (breast cancer therapy) AND (cardiotoxic) OR (Cardiac dysfunction.)) From the initial search, a total of 150 studies were obtained, while articles that did not meet the eligibility criteria were excluded. Furthermore, the articles were reviewed using full-text reading, leading to the inclusion of nineteen in this systematic review. Results: A total of eleven studies evaluated the effect of cardio-protective drugs on Anthracycline (ANT), and nine assessed Trastuzumab. The results showed that eight studies used Beta-blocker (BB) as cardio-protective strategies, while one, one, three, two, one, one, and one utilized Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB), ARB + Beta-blocker, ACE-inhibitor (ACE-I) + Beta-blocker, ACE-I/ARB/BB, spironolactone, statin, and Dexrazoxane (DZR), respectively. In large reports, the risk of CTRCD was reduced by the use of a combination of RAAS inhibitors and Beta-blockers. Furthermore, spironolactone, statins, and DZR mitigated the decrease in LVEF compared to the control group in small studies. Conclusions: Based on the results, chemotherapy decreased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and induced heart failure. Furthermore, the review showed that a combination of reninangiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors and Beta-blockers reduced CTRCD. Future studies in larger settings were needed to investigate the efficacy of other strategies, such as statins, Spironolactone, exercise, and DZR.

Biomarkers and Strain Echocardiography for the Detection of Subclinical Cardiotoxicity in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Anthracyclines.

The optimal surveillance and management strategies for breast cancer patients receiving anthracycline therapy are limited by our incomplete understanding of the role of biomarkers heralding the onset of cardiotoxicity. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a temporal correlation between cardiac biomarkers and subclinical left ventricular dysfunction in breast cancer patients receiving anthracycline chemotherapy. Thirty-one females between 46 and 55 years old with breast cancer treated with anthracycline chemotherapy were prospectively enrolled. Cardiac biomarkers were correlated with echocardiography with speckle tracking at baseline, post-anthracycline therapy, and 6 months post-anthracycline chemotherapy. Subclinical cardiotoxicity was defined as ≥ 10% reduction in global longitudinal strain (GLS). There was a relative reduction in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥ 10% in 5/30 (17%) and 7/27 (26%) patients post-anthracycline therapy and 6 months post-anthracycline therapy, respectively. Subclinical cardiotoxicity was noted in 8/30 (27%) and 10/26 (38%) patients post-anthracycline and 6 months post-anthracycline therapy, respectively. Baseline N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) was the strongest predictor of LVEF (ρ = -0.45; p = 0.019), with post-therapy NT-proBNP values illustrating similar predictive value (ρ = -0.40; p = 0.038). Interim changes in suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (ST2) and galectin-3 correlated with a 6-month change in LVEF (ρ = -0.48; p = 0.012 and ρ = -0.45; p = 0.018, for ST2 and galectin-3, respectively). Changes in galectin-3 from baseline to mid-therapy paralleled changes in GLS. NT-proBNP, ST2, and galectin-3 correlate with reduced LVEF among breast cancer patients receiving anthracycline therapy. Additional trials focusing on a cardiac biomarker approach may provide guidance in the early diagnosis and management of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity.

Role of Clinical Risk Factors and B-Type Natriuretic Peptide in Assessing the Risk of Asymptomatic Cardiotoxicity in Breast Cancer Patients in Kazakhstan

The asymptomatic progression of chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity poses a significant risk to breast cancer patients. In the present single-center cohort study, a predictive model for evaluating the risk of cardiotoxicity during or by the end of chemotherapy was designed. The risk-prediction nomogram was delineated and assessed. In total, 34 patients out of 120 developed asymptomatic cardiotoxicity (28.3%). Of six explored biomarkers, only B-type natriuretic peptide showed a reliable pattern of incremental increase, revealing statistical significance between cardiotoxicity “+” and “−” groups by visit 4 or by the 9th month of monitoring (p 0.006). The following predictors were included in the model: age, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, baseline glomerular filtration rate, 6 min walk test measured at visit 4, BNP values at visit 4, left ventricular ejection fraction levels at visit 4, a total dose of radiotherapy received, and anthracycline cumulative doses. The model’s AUC was 0.72 (95% CI 0.59; 0.86), evidencing the satisfactory predictive ability of the model; sensitivity 100% (95% CI 90.36; 100.0) at a specificity of 66.67% (95% CI 50.33; 79.79); PPV 54.1% [95% CI 47.13; 60.91]; PVN 100% [95% CI 94.64; 100.00]. The calibration plot showed satisfactory agreement between predicted and actual chances (p = 0.98). The designed model can be applied in settings lacking speckle tracking echocardiography.

Risk prediction model of cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients; the multicenter prospective CHECK HEART-BC (comprehensive heart imaging to evaluate cardiac damage linked with chemotherapy in breast

Abstract Background Cardiotoxicity due to cancer therapy has been emerging as an important issue along with the improvement in prognosis of breast cancer patients. Although the usefulness of global longitudinal strain and biomarker analysis was previously reported separately, there are few studies based on systematic evaluation of cardiotoxicity. Furthermore, large prospective cohort studies regarding cardiotoxicity and its prediction in breast cancer patients were also limited. Purpose Multicenter prospective study was performed to reveal the current characteristics of cardiotoxicity and develop a robust prediction model for cardiotoxicity using systematic evaluation of cardiac function. Methods and results Breast cancer patients who were scheduled for neoadjuvant and/or adjuvant chemotherapy were prospectively screened at the 25 participating institutions from August 2017 and March 2020. As a study protocol, follow-up visits were planned every 3 months from pre-treatment to 12 months after chemotherapy (median follow-up of 366 days). To evaluate their cardiac function, echocardiography, high-sensitive cardiac troponin, natriuretic peptide, and 12-lead ECG were acquired at every follow-up visit. cardiotoxicity was defined as a reduction in LVEF &amp;gt;10% point from baseline and to a value &amp;lt;53% in LVEF. Results 542 chemotherapy-naïve patients were included for analysis from 25 institutions. cardiotoxicity developed in 46 (8.5%) during follow-up period. The HEART2 score based on pre-treatment data (model A) was composed of 6 variables including heart rate &amp;gt;64 bpm, LV end-systolic volume index &amp;gt;36.0 mL/m2, treatment with anthracycline, with radiation, with trastuzumab, and TAPSE &amp;lt;26 mm. The receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed acceptable accuracy (an area under curve (AUC) 0.74 [95%confidence interval 0.66-0.81], P&amp;lt;0.01). Furthermore, the ROC curve of the HEART2 score adding variables of 3 months after chemotherapy (model B) (difference in heart rate from pre-treatment, LV end-systolic volume index &amp;gt;42.0 mL/m2) showed a greater AUC than the model based on only pre-treatment data (AUC 0.81 [95%confidence interval 0.73-0.90], P&amp;lt;0.01). No patient with low-risk group in the HEART2 score based on variables of pre-treatment and 3 months after chemotherapy developed cardiotoxicity, while 28.1% developed cardiotoxicity in patients with high-risk group in both models. Conclusions CHECK HEART-BC study revealed current clinical characteristics of cardiotoxicity and developed the HEART2 score which showed good accuracy and consistency. The HEART2 score can provide an efficient and effective strategy for early detection of cardiotoxicity.The HEART2 scoreThe combination of model A and B

Exploration of Key Immune-Related Transcriptomes Associated with Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity in Patients with Breast Cancer

Based on a few studies, heart failure patients with breast cancer were assessed to find potential biomarkers for doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity. However, key immune-related transcriptional markers linked to doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients have not been thoroughly investigated. We used GSE40447, GSE76314, and TCGA BRCA cohorts to perform this study. Then, we performed various bioinformatics approaches to identify the key immune-related transcriptional markers and their association with doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in patients with breast cancer. We found 255 upregulated genes and 286 downregulated genes in patients with doxorubicin-induced heart failure in breast cancer. We discovered that in patients with breast cancer comorbidity doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity, the 58 immunological genes are elevated (such as CPA3, VSIG4, GATA2, RFX2, IL3RA, and LRP1), and the 60 genes are significantly suppressed (such as MS4A1, FCRL1, CD200, FCRLA, FCRL2, and CD79A). Furthermore, we revealed that the immune-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) are substantially associated with the enrichment of KEGG pathways, including B-cell receptor signaling pathway, primary immunodeficiency, chemokine signaling pathway, hematopoietic cell lineage, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, focal adhesion, dilated cardiomyopathy, cell adhesion molecule, etc. Moreover, we discovered that the doxorubicin-induced immune-related genes are crucially involved in the protein–protein interaction and gene clusters. The immune-related genes, including IFIT5, XCL1, SPIB, BTLA, MS4A1, CD19, TCL1A, CD83, CD200, FCRLA, CD79A, BIRC3, and IGF2R are significantly associated with a poor survival prognosis of breast cancer patients and showed diagnostic efficacy in patients with breast cancer and heart failure. Molecular docking revealed that the survival-associated genes interact with the doxorubicin with appreciable binding affinity. Finally, we validated the expression level of immune-related genes in breast cancer patients-derived cardiomyocytes with doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity and found that the level of RAD9A, HSPA1B, GATA2, IGF2R, CD200, ERCC8, and BCL11A genes are consistently dysregulated. Our findings offered a basis for understanding the mechanism and pathogenesis of the cardiotoxicity caused by doxorubicin in breast cancer patients and predicted the interaction of immune-related potential biomarkers with doxorubicin.

Racial Disparity in Anthracycline-induced Cardiotoxicity in Breast Cancer Patients.

Breast cancer has become the most common cancer in the US and worldwide. While advances in early detection and treatment have resulted in a 40% reduction in breast cancer mortality, this reduction has not been achieved uniformly among racial groups. A large percentage of non-metastatic breast cancer mortality is related to the cardiovascular effects of breast cancer therapies. These effects appear to be more prevalent among patients from historically marginalized racial/ethnic backgrounds, such as African American and Hispanic individuals. Anthracyclines, particularly doxorubicin and daunorubicin, are the first-line treatments for breast cancer patients. However, their use is limited by their dose-dependent and cumulative cardiotoxicity, manifested by cardiomyopathy, ischemic heart disease, arrhythmias, hypertension, thromboembolic disorders, and heart failure. Cardiotoxicity risk factors, such as genetic predisposition and preexisting obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and heart diseases, are more prevalent in racial/ethnic minorities and undoubtedly contribute to the risk. Yet, beyond these risk factors, racial/ethnic minorities also face unique challenges that contribute to disparities in the emerging field of cardio-oncology, including socioeconomic factors, food insecurity, and the inability to access healthcare providers, among others. The current review will address genetic, clinical, and social determinants that potentially contribute to this disparity.

Coq10 for preventing cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients treated with trastuzumab.

Trastuzumab is a successful treatment option for HER2-positive breast cancer, but a decline in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and an increase in inflammatory and cardiac enzyme biomarkers can lead to cessation and termination of therapy. This study aimed to investigate the ability of Coenzyme Q10 (Coq10) to avoid these adverse effects. The study included 100 female patients with HER2+ (HER2+3 or amplified gene) breast cancer. All patients underwent standard adjuvant chemotherapy regimens, which involved a four-cycle treatment of Adriamycin, Cyclophosphamide, Docetaxel, and an initial 8 mg/kg loading dose of trastuzumab, followed by a year of 6 mg/kg maintenance doses every three weeks. One group of 50 patients received trastuzumab and a placebo, while the other 50 were given trastuzumab and CoQ10 for a full year. The CoQ10-treated group exhibited a statistically significant decrease in levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), interleukin-6 (IL6), soluble toll-like receptor 4 (sTLR4), and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) compared to the control group (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the mean F2-isoprostane levels between the treated and the control groups at any data collection point. Furthermore, the CoQ10-treated group experienced a significant reduction in the decline of EF levels compared to the control group at all stages except for baseline. According to our findings, Coenzyme Q10 protected patients with HER2+3 breast cancer from the cardiotoxicity of trastuzumab by increasing ejection fraction and decreasing inflammatory biomarkers and cardiac enzyme levels.

Risk Stratification for Cardiotoxicity in Breast Cancer Patients: Predicting Early Decline of LVEF After Treatment.

This study introduces AI-based models in prediction and risk assessment of early cardiac dysfunction in older breast cancer patients, as a side-effect of their cancer treatment. Using only features extracted during the baseline evaluation of each patient the proposed methodology could predict a decline in LVEF values in 4 different follow-up intervals during the first year after treatment initiation (i.e. months 3-12), with a mean accuracy of 66.67% and up to 73.55%. Selected baseline predictive factors were ranked according to their prevalence in the evaluation experiments, replicating the importance of various cardiac disorders at baseline, LVEF value and a higher age, which are all previously reported, while introducing Diabetes as an important risk factor.Clinical Relevance- Healthcare providers can better assess cardiovascular health status and risk of cardiotoxicity in the cancer treatment continuum. This will enable timely intervention and close monitoring on high risk patients while saving resources for low risk patients.

Trastuzumab-induced cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients: A meta-analysis and review of the literature (2012-2022).

e24101 Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common type of cancer diagnosed, and 10-15% of BC patients develop a HER2-positive disease with a poor prognosis. In a previous meta-analysis of NCCTG N9831 and NSABP B-31 trials, treatment of early-stage HER2-positive BC patients with Trastuzumab and chemotherapeutic drugs improved overall survival by 37%. Trastuzumab-induced cardiotoxicity (TIC) is characterized by cardiac dysfunction, including decreased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and heart failure. Per package inserts, the incidence of TIC is 4-6 times higher than the control. An important risk factor for TIC is the administration of concomitant anthracycline chemotherapy. Several studies have reported that this treatment combination can significantly reduce LVEF compared to Trastuzumab alone. In this study, we compiled recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and clinical trial data to evaluate the incidence of cardiotoxicity in Trastuzumab-treated BC and study management guidelines specifically directed for TIC. This will help reduce the morbidity and mortality in these patients. Methods: Our search included PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library articles from July 2012 through July 2022. RCTs and clinical trials that used Trastuzumab as a therapy and reported its cardiotoxic effects were included. A random-effects model was utilized with Review Manager, and a P value &lt; 0.05 was considered significant. The entire analysis of treatment and control groups had various guideline-directed chemotherapies, including anthracycline-based regimens. Results: Our initial search yielded 26 results. After a full literature review by two independent reviewers, we selected four studies that included 1481 patients with cardiotoxicity data in the treatment and control groups. The analysis pooled from clinical trials showed that the odds of cardiotoxicity (specifically LVEF reduction) in patients treated with Trastuzumab were about seven times higher than the control group (OR 6.78, 95% CI 2.85-16.09, p-value &lt; 0.0001). The guidelines recommend withholding Trastuzumab for ≥ 16% absolute decrease in LVEF from pre-treatment values or an LVEF value below normal institutional limits and ≥ 10% absolute decrease in LVEF from pretreatment values. The safety of continuation or resumption of Trastuzumab in patients with TIC has not been studied, and there are no standardized management guidelines. Conclusions: We conclude in our study that the odds of TIC are increased by almost seven times compared to chemotherapy alone. In addition to just regular monitoring of these patients with history, physical examination, and determination of LVEF by echocardiogram or MUGA scan per protocol, there is a need to formulate guidelines for continuation or resumption of Trastuzumab in patients with TIC.

Prognostic Impact of Global Longitudinal Strain and NT-proBNP on Early Development of Cardiotoxicity in Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Anthracycline-Based Chemotherapy.

Background. The most important anthracycline side effect is cardiotoxicity, resulting in congestive heart failure (HF). Early detection of cardiac dysfunction and appropriate treatment can improve outcomes and reduce the progression of HF. The aim of our study was to evaluate changes in clinical data, echocardiographic parameters, and NT-proBNP, as well as their associations with early anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity (AIC) in patients treated with anthracycline-based chemotherapy. Methods and Materials. Patients with breast cancer were prospectively assessed with echocardiography, as well as NT-proBNP testing at baseline, (T0), after two cycles (T1) and four cycles (T2) of chemotherapy. AIC was defined as a new decrease in the LVEF of 10 percentage points, to a value below the lower limit of normal. Results. We evaluated 85 patients aged 54.5 ± 9.3 years. After a cumulative dose of 237.9 mg/m2 of doxorubicin, 22 patients (25.9%) met the criteria of AIC after chemotherapy. Patients who subsequently progressed to cardiotoxicity had demonstrated a significantly larger impairment in LV systolic function compared to those who did not develop cardiotoxicity (LVEF: 54.0 ± 1.6% vs. 57.1 ± 1.4% at T1, p < 0.001, and 49.9 ± 2.1% vs. 55.8 ± 1.6% at T2, p < 0.001; GLS: -17.8 ± 0.4% vs. -19.3 ± 0.9% at T1, p < 0.001, and -16.5 ± 11.1% vs. -18.5 ± 0.9% at T2, p < 0.001, respectively). The levels of NT-proBNP increased significantly from 94.8 ± 43.8 ng/L to 154.1 ± 75.6 ng/L, p < 0.001. A relative decrease in GLS ≤ -18.0% (sensitivity: 72.73%; specificity: 92.06%; AUC, 0.94; p < 0.001) and a relative increase in NT-proBNP > 125 ng/L (sensitivity: 90.0%; specificity: 56.9%; AUC, 0.78; p < 0.001) from baseline to T1 predicted subsequent LV cardiotoxicity at T2. Conclusions. Decrease in GLS and elevation in NT-proBNP were significantly associated with AIC, and these could potentially be used to predict subsequent declines in LVEF with anthracycline-based chemotherapy.

Echocardiographic indicators of anthracycline cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients with normal left ventricular ejection fraction: Experience of the first cardio-oncology unit in Morocco

Anthracycline is a mainstay in the treatment of many cancers, especially breast cancer. Anthracyclines are known for their significant cardiotoxic potential. Although the cardiotoxicity induced by anthracyclines is dose-dependent and often irreversible, it can occur very early at the start of treatment and sometimes even very late after several years from the end of treatment. The aim of this study was to assess whether echocardiographic measurements of LV function, in the case of normal LVEF, predict the development of anthracycline cardiotoxicity in patients followed for breast cancer. We conducted a longitudinal study of 2329 cancer patients including 2284 female breast cancer survivors, recruited from the cardio-oncology unit in Casablanca, who were diagnosed with primary invasive breast cancer between January 2017 and April 2022. All patients underwent pre-, per- and post-chemotherapy echocardiography. LV volumes, LVEF, MAPSE, S’LV, maximum longitudinal strain were measured. Of 2284 patients, 64% had normal resting LVEF. Mean LVEF was 56 ± 5%, global longitudinal strain (GLS) was −17.4 ± 2.2%, and LV end diastolic volume (LVEDV) was 108 ± 17 mL, MAPSE was 17 ± 5 mm and S’VG was 9+/4 cm/s. 12% percent presented with cardiotoxicity: heart failure with alteration of LVEF by more than 15% (CI) in 163 patients, 67% of whom had an altered S’LV < 8 cm/s) and an altered SGL (>−18%), arterial hypertension in 58 patients, 17 cases of pericardial effusions, 15 cases of arrhythmias, 6 cases of 3rd degree atrioventricular block and 3 cases of right ventricular dysfunction. Age, diabetes, obesity, GLS and LVEDV were all predictive of MACE (P = 0.028, 0.017, 0.041, 0.038 and 0.014 respectively). In patients treated with anthracyclines with normal pre-chemotherapy LVEF, longitudinal function (MAPSE AND S’LV) and baseline GLS predict the development of cardiotoxicity. This helps us to develop algorithms for close monitoring in this type of patient.

Electrocardiographic and biochemical analysis of anthracycline induced cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients from Southern Sri Lanka

BackgroundThe clinical application of anthracycline chemotherapy is hindered due to the cumulative dose-dependent cardiotoxicity followed by the oxidative stress initiated during the mechanism of action of anthracyclines. Due to a lack of prevalence data regarding anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity in Sri Lanka, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of cardiotoxicity among breast cancer patients in Southern Sri Lanka in terms of electrocardiographic and cardiac biomarker investigations.MethodsA cross-sectional study with longitudinal follow-up was conducted among 196 cancer patients at the Teaching Hospital, Karapitiya, Sri Lanka to determine the incidence of acute and early-onset chronic cardiotoxicity. Data on electrocardiography and cardiac biomarkers were collected from each patient, one day before anthracycline (doxorubicin and epirubicin) chemotherapy, one day after the first dose, one day and six months after the last dose of anthracycline chemotherapy.ResultsPrevalence of sub-clinical anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity six months after the completion of anthracycline chemotherapy was significantly higher (p < 0.05) and there were strong, significant (p < 0.05) associations among echocardiography, electrocardiography measurements and cardiac biomarkers including troponin I and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptides. The cumulative anthracycline dose, > 350 mg/m2 was the most significant risk factor associated with the sub-clinical cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients under study.ConclusionSince these results confirmed the unavoidable cardiotoxic changes following anthracycline chemotherapy, it is recommended to carry out long-term follow-ups in all patients who were treated with anthracycline therapy to increase their quality of life as cancer survivors.

Prognostic value of left ventricular global longitudinal strain on speckle echocardiography for predicting chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Literature suggests that left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) on speckle echocardiography has the potential to predict cardiotoxicity amongst breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy such as anthracycline, taxane, cyclophosphamide, and trastuzumab. Our study aimed to collect evidence for the prognostic value of LV-GLS for predicting chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients. A detailed search of the PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, and Scopus databases was conducted for published articles up to August 31, 2022. In our meta-analysis, we looked at 13 studies with a total of 1007 breast cancer patients getting chemotherapy that looked at the predictive value of GLS. Absolute GLS change during treatment showed a pooled sensitivity of 84% (95% CI 74% to 91%) and a pooled specificity of 77% (95% CI 68% to 84%). For a relative change in GLS, we observed a pooled sensitivity of 76% (95% CI 56% to 89%) and a pooled specificity of 83% (95% CI 73% to 90%). For an absolute change in GLS, we observed a positive likelihood ratio (LR), and the negative LR was 4 and .21. Summary receiver operating characteristics curve with prediction and confidence intervals represents a promising summary area under the curve (sAUC) of .88, 95% CI ranges from .85 to .91 for absolute change in GLS, as well as for relative change (sAUC, .87, 95% CI .84 to .90). Our results demonstrated an estimation of LV-GLS after the beginning of required chemotherapy, including anthracyclines and trastuzumab, had a promising prognostic value for predicting the likelihood of cancer therapeutics-related cardiac dysfunction. To confirm our findings, well-designed prospective adequately powered diagnostic randomised trials are necessary.