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The Joint Role of Serum Markers of Congestion or Myocardial Necrosis And Speckle Tracking Echocardiography in The Detection of Early Subtle Chemotherapy-Induced Cardiotoxicity in Women With Breast Cancer

Kardiologiia. 2025 Jul 7;65(6):34-43. doi: 10.18087/cardio.2025.6.n2933.

ABSTRACT

Aim To monitor the dynamics of biomarkers during chemotherapy, targeted chemotherapy and targeted monotherapy in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer (BC); to analyze the emergence timing of these changes; to compare early biochemical and echocardiographic criteria; and to determine the best time for assessing latent subclinical cardiac dysfunction.Material and methods Patients with BC (229 women aged 57±11 years) treated sequentially with anthracyclines, a combination of docetaxel and trastuzumab, and trastuzumab monotherapy were examined during three blocks of BC therapy until the development of clinical cardiotoxicity. Time-related changes in high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain (GLS) and LV ejection fraction (EF) (up to 12 speckle-tracking echocardiograms/up to 12 laboratory tests) were analyzed. Clinical cardiotoxicity was defined as a symptomatic decrease in LV EF ≥10% from the baseline value of 54% or more.Results Clinically significant cardiotoxicity developed in 6.3-10.9% of cases depending on the treatment option for BC. Early manifestations of cardiotoxicity were detected already at 3 weeks after the start of the first course of chemotherapy. For the BC treatment with anthracyclines and targeted chemotherapy with docetaxel and trastuzumab, the markers of clinical cardiotoxicity were high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I, NT-proBNP and GLS LV. For the trastuzumab monotherapy, only GLS LV had a prognostic value. No statistically significant changes in the concentrations of high-sensitivity troponin I and NT-proBNP were found.Conclusion For timely detection of clinical cardiotoxicity, laboratory tests (high-sensitivity troponin I, NT-proBNP) and echocardiography (GLS LV) are recommended to be performed every 3 weeks before the next course of BC therapy. While doing so, their sensitivity will depend on the treatment option for BC.

PMID:40627425 | DOI:10.18087/cardio.2025.6.n2933

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