Early detection and prediction of cardiotoxicity in chemotherapy-treated patients

Global longitudinal strain is a better metric than left ventricular ejection fraction: lessons learned from cancer therapeutic-related cardiac dysfunction

PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW

This review aims to highlight the utility of global longitudinal strain (GLS) in cancer therapeutic-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD), with an attempt to stipulate that GLS might be a better measure than left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).

RECENT FINDINGS

Increasingly, GLS quantification has been employed in various cardiovascular diseases especially with its ability to detect left ventricular dysfunction subclinically, even before a change in LVEF is visualized. In fact, several studies reveal that GLS may be a superior predictor of mortality and morbidity than LVEF in this context. A recent metaanalysis supported the prognosticating value of GLS in CTRCD, however, endorsed the need for larger multicenter studies to establish the value of this metric. Studies in other cardiovascular disease processes showed GLS as a better metric than LVEF.

SUMMARY

GLS has been heralded as a new echocardiographic measure that can detect subclinical cardiac disease. At a minimum, GLS can provide incremental value in prognosticating, diagnosing, and predicting LVEF recovery and at best, a better measure of left ventricular dysfunction.

Dynamic Changes in High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin I in Response to Anthracycline-Based Chemotherapy

AIMS

Treatment advances have improved cancer-related outcomes and shifted interest towards minimising long-term iatrogenic complications, particularly chemotherapy-related cardiotoxicity. High-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) assays accurately quantify very low concentrations of plasma troponin and enable early detection of cardiomyocyte injury prior to the development of myocardial dysfunction. The profile of hs-cTnI in response to anthracycline-based treatment has not previously been described.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a multicentre prospective observational cohort study. Female patients with newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer scheduled to receive anthracycline-based (epirubicin) chemotherapy were recruited. Blood sampling was carried out before and 24 h after each cycle. Hs-cTnI concentrations were measured using the Abbott ARCHITECT_STAT assay.

RESULTS

We recruited 78 women with a median (interquartile range) age of 52 (49-61) years. The median baseline troponin concentration was 1 (1-4) ng/l and the median cumulative epirubicin dose was 394 (300-405) mg/m². Following an initial 33% fall 24 h after anthracycline dosing (P < 0.001), hs-cTnI concentrations increased by a median of 50% (P < 0.001) with each successive treatment cycle. In total, 45 patients had troponin measured immediately before the sixth treatment cycle, 21 (46.6%) of whom had hs-cTnI concentrations ≥16 ng/l, indicating myocardial injury. Plasma hs-cTnI concentrations before the second treatment cycle were a strong predictor of subsequent myocardial injury.

CONCLUSIONS

Cardiotoxicity arising from anthracycline therapy is detectable in the earliest stages of breast cancer treatment and is cumulative with each treatment cycle. This injury is most reliably determined from blood sampling carried out before rather than after each treatment cycle.

To study the usefulness and comparison of myocardial strain imaging by 2D and 3D echocardiography for early detection of cardiotoxicity in patients undergoing cardiotoxic chemotherapy

Background

Chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity constitutes subclinical myocardial dysfunction, arrhythmias, pericarditis, coronary vasospasm, and significant symptomatic heart failure. Anthracyclines pose higher risk for long-term cardiac dysfunction, with increased incidences of morbidity and mortality. Hence, early detection of chemotherapy-induced cardiac dysfunction may prompt an earlier treatment modification.

Aim

To evaluate global, longitudinal, radial, and circumferential strain changes in adult patients undergoing anthracycline chemotherapy along with the usefulness of three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography as the new modality over two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography.

Methods

This was a single centre, prospective, observational study that included asymptomatic patients free from any cardiac signs and symptoms attributable to heart failure, who underwent potentially cardiotoxic chemotherapy for malignancy from December 2017 to November 2018 at a tertiary care centre in India. Baseline demographics were recorded, and 2D and 3D echocardiography was performed at baseline and after completion of four cycles of chemotherapy.

Results

All the 55 patients received a cumulative dose of doxorubicin of less than 550 mg/m². Follow-up period from the beginning of doxorubicin therapy was 108 ± 14 days. 9 patients were excluded from the study due to poor 3D images, so data analysis was done only for 46 patients. In 2D echocardiography, only global longitudinal strain (GLS) was observed to be significantly reduced (Δ18.33%; P < 0.001). 2D ejection fraction (EF) did not show significant change (Δ0.67%; P = 0.176), while by 3D echo, EF reduced significantly (Δ3.55%; P < 0.001). 3D global longitudinal (Δ29.19%; P < 0.001), circumferential (Δ30.65%; P < 0.001), area (Δ21.61%; P < 0.001), and radial (Δ29.66%; P < 0.001) strains were observed to be significantly reduced at follow-up.

Conclusion

Myocardial dysfunction induced by cardiotoxic chemotherapy can be detected earlier by using 2D GLS, 3D volumetric analysis, and 3D strain analysis by calculating global, longitudinal, radial, and circumferential strain changes. 3D echocardiographic assessment seems to be more accurate in picking out small changes in left ventricular functions, but at the cost of slightly poor image quality as compared to the 2D echocardiography. These newer techniques could potentially improve the ability for early detection of subclinical abnormalities of LV function in patients undergoing cardiotoxic chemotherapy and thus early initiation of treatment could be possible.

Fully automated and comprehensive MRI-based left-ventricular contractility analysis in post-chemotherapy breast cancer patients

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the occurrence of cardiotoxicity-related left-ventricular (LV) contractile dysfunction in breast cancer patients following treatment with antineoplastic chemotherapy agents.

METHODS

A validated and automated MRI-based LV contractility analysis tool consisting of quantization-based boundary detection, unwrapping of image phases and the meshfree Radial Point Interpolation Method was used toward measuring LV chamber quantifications (LVCQ), three-dimensional strains and torsions in patients and healthy subjects. Data were acquired with the Displacement Encoding with Stimulated Echoes (DENSE) sequence on 21 female patients and 21 age-matched healthy females. Estimates of patient LVCQs from DENSE acquisitions were validated in comparison to similar steady-state free precession measurements and their strain results validated via Bland-Altman interobserver agreements. The occurrence of LV abnormalities was investigated via significant differences in contractility measurements (LVCQs, strains and torsions) between patients and healthy subjects.

RESULTS

Repeated measures analysis showed similarities between LVCQ measurements from DENSE and steady-state free precession, including cardiac output (4.7 ± 0.4 L, 4.6 ± 0.4 L, p = 0.8), and LV ejection fractions (59±6%, 58±5%, p = 0.2). Differences found between patients and healthy subjects included enlarged basal diameter (5.0 ± 0.5 cm vs 4.4 ± 0.5 cm, p < 0.01), apical torsion (6.0 ± 1.1° vs 9.7 ± 1.4°, p < 0.001) and global longitudinal strain (-0.15 ± 0.02 vs. -0.21 ± 0.04, p < 0.001), but not LV ejection fraction (59±6% vs. 63±6%, p = 0.1).

CONCLUSION

The results from the statistical analysis reveal the possibility of LV abnormalities in the post-chemotherapy patients via enlarged basal diameter and reduced longitudinal strain and torsion, in comparison to healthy subjects.

ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE

This study shows that subclinical LV abnormalities in post-chemotherapy breast cancer patients can be detected with an automated technique for the comprehensive analysis of contractile parameters.

Global Longitudinal Strain and Immune Status in Patients Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Improvement in survival in patients living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV) has led to increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease. Whether HIV-associated immune dysfunction is associated with preclinical left ventricular (LV) dysfunction despite normal LV ejection fraction (LVEF) is unclear. Accordingly, we investigated the relation of immune status and LV function in PLHIV. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) analyses were performed retrospectively on all echocardiograms for PLHIV who had available HIV-1 RNA viral load, nadir, and proximal CD4 cell count data at Duke University Medical Center between 2001 and 2012. The relation between HIV-1 RNA viral load, nadir, and proximal CD4 count and GLS as a continuous dependent variable was assessed with unadjusted and adjusted linear regression. GLS was calculated for 253 PLHIV. Median GLS in our cohort was - 15.1% with interquartile range from (-16.7 to -13.6). All participants had an LVEF ≥50%. In adjusted analyses, proximal CD4 <500 cells/mm³ and nadir CD4 <250 cells/mm³ were significantly inversely correlated with GLS (p = 0.01 and p = 0.004, respectively). In PLHIV, patient with plasma HIV RNA <400 copies/ml at baseline had a trend toward significantly more negative values of GLS compared with those patients without viral suppression at baseline (p = 0.08). In conclusion, this study is the first to demonstrate such a high prevalence of abnormal GLS in PLHIV, and the first to identify that proximal and nadir CD4 cell count are independently associated with GLS despite normal LVEF.

Applications of left ventricular strain measurements to patients undergoing chemotherapy

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

We aim to summarize the utility of strain in monitoring the effects of cancer therapy-related cardiotoxicity (CTRC) on the development of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction.

RECENT FINDINGS

Serial assessment of cardiac function at baseline and during treatment is recommended in patients undergoing cancer treatment. Historically, the use of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) has been used to monitor for cardiac toxicity from cancer therapies but myocardial mechanic parameters, in particular global longitudinal strain (GLS), have emerged as powerful adjunctive tools. On the basis of longitudinal cohort studies in patients treated with anthracyclines and trastuzumab and retrospective studies of childhood survivors of cancers, strain has been used to detect subclinical LV dysfunction prior to changes in LVEF. Strain parameters decrease during both anthracycline and trastuzumab and these changes can persist after completion of therapy. Baseline GLS and changes in GLS during therapy can be independently prognostic for developing CTRC. Further, GLS has appeared to have an additive predictive value in addition to the traditional clinical parameters and baseline LVEF in the development of cardiotoxicity. The inclusion of strain parameters in clinical decision making and therapeutic planning is an area of intense research.

SUMMARY

This review seeks to highlight the importance of echocardiographic strain measurements in early detection, treatment and prevention of LV dysfunction from CTRC.

Pediatric malignancies: Is the prechemotherapy left ventricular function normal?

PURPOSE

We compared the left ventricular (LV) systolic function in children with cancer before initiation of chemotherapy with matched controls using speckle tracking echocardiography.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In this retrospective study, we analyzed the echocardiograms of 89 cancer patients before the initiation of chemotherapy and 82 age- (8.4 ± 5.2 vs. 8.9 ± 3.9 years, P = .4) and gender-matched (64% vs. 67%, males, P = .4) healthy controls. Peak systolic LV longitudinal strain (LS) was significantly lower in cancer patients in apical two (-19.8 ± 3.0 vs. -23.5 ± 4.0, P < .001), three (-19.4 ± 3.2 vs. -23.4 ± 4.0, P < .001), and four-chamber views (-19.7 ± 3.4 vs. -22.5 ± 3.0, P < .001) compared to controls, as was global longitudinal strain (GLS) (-19.8 ± 2.7 vs. -23.4 ± 3.2, P < .001). The prechemotherapy group also had a higher E/e' ratio compared to controls at the septal (9.3 ± 3.9 vs. 7.9 ± 1.7, P = .005) and lateral annulus (7.9 ± 3.3 vs. 5.9 ± 1.4, P < .001) of the mitral valve. The LV ejection fraction was lower in cancer patients compared to controls (63.5 ± 4.9 vs. 66.8 ± 4.1, P < .001), although still within normal limits. There were no differences in LV myocardial performance index (0.30 ± 0.05 vs. 0.30 ± 0.09, P < .65) and shortening fraction (35.8 ± 5.2 vs. 36.1 ± 6.1, P < 0.75) between the two groups. Subgroup analysis showed no difference in LV GLS between patients with solid tumors (n = 56) and blood cancers (n = 33) (GLS -19.2 ± 2.9 vs. 19.5 ± 2.4, P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Our data demonstrating abnormalities in LV GLS in pediatric cancer patients even prior to initiation of chemotherapy are novel and perplexing. Further longitudinal follow-up is required to assess the implications of this abnormal LV function in these patients.

Decline in Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction Following Anthracyclines Predicts Trastuzumab Cardiotoxicity

OBJECTIVES

The aim of CATS (Cardiotoxicity of Adjuvant Trastuzumab Study) was to prospectively assess clinical, biochemical, and genomic predictors of trastuzumab-related cardiotoxicity (TRC).

BACKGROUND

Cardiac dysfunction is a common adverse effect of trastuzumab. Studies to identify predictive biomarkers for TRC have enrolled heterogeneous populations and yielded mixed results.

METHODS

A total of 222 patients with early-stage human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast cancer scheduled to receive adjuvant anthracyclines followed by 12 months of trastuzumab were prospectively recruited from 17 centers. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), troponin T, and N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide were measured at baseline, post-anthracycline, and every 3 months during trastuzumab. Germline single-nucleotide polymorphisms in ERBB2, FCGR2A, and FCGR3A were analyzed. TRC was defined as symptomatic heart failure; cardiac death, arrhythmia, or infarction; a decrease in LVEF of >15% from baseline; or a decrease in LVEF of >10% to <50%.

RESULTS

TRC occurred in 18 of 217 subjects (8.3%). Lower pre-anthracycline LVEF and greater interval decline in LVEF from pre- to post-anthracycline were each associated with TRC on multivariate analyses (odds ratio: 3.9 [p = 0.0001] and 7.9 [p < 0.0001] for a 5% absolute change in LVEF). Higher post-anthracycline N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide level was associated with TRC on univariate but not multivariate analyses. There were no associations between troponin T or ERBB2/FGCR polymorphisms and TRC. Baseline LVEF and LVEF change post-anthracycline were used to generate a "low-risk TRC score" to identify patients with low TRC incidence.

CONCLUSIONS

Low baseline LVEF and greater LVEF decline post-anthracycline were both independent predictors of TRC. The other biomarkers did not further improve the ability to predict TRC. (Cardiotoxicity of Adjuvant Trastuzumab [CATS]; NCT00858039).

[Clinical Capabilities and Limitations in the Use of Modern Technologies in Echocardiography]

Transthoracic echocardiography is the most frequently used method for detection of impaired contractility of the left ventricle. In most cases, assessment of contractility is carried out visually "by eye", what increases its subjectivity, is operator-dependent in nature and requires a high level of clinical training and experience of the researcher. Currently in the arsenal of a specialist in echocardiography for quantification of left ventricular contractility sometimes is used tissue Doppler echocardiography, however, this method requires special settings of the image (high frame rate, the allocation of zones of interest), depends on the scanning angle and on operator qualification, has high intra - and inter-operator variability, and significantly increases the duration of the study. Therefore, this method has not received wide clinical application. In the 2000s years an innovative technique of speckle tracking emerged, which, unlike tissue Doppler echocardiography is efficient, does not burden a researcher with time costs, has a low intra - and inter- operator variability, does not depend on scan angle. In recent years, this technology is actively implemented in clinical practice for detection of subclinical impairment of the functional state of the myocardium in different diseases and syndromes: arterial hypertension, ischemic heart disease, valvular defects, and congenital heart disease, heart failure, cardiomyopathy of different etiology.

Evaluation of long-term cardiac side effects of anthracycline chemotherapy by conventional and non-conventional echocardiographic methods in childhood cancer survivors

OBJECTIVE

Anthracycline chemotherapeutic agents carry the well-recognised risk of cardiac toxicity. The aim of this study was to determine the long-term effect of anthracycline chemotherapy on the biventricular function in childhood cancer survivors using tissue Doppler imaging and two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The study included 45 survivors of childhood cancers and 50 healthy age-matched control patients. Cardiac function was prospectively studied with conventional echocardiography, tissue Doppler imaging, and speckle tracking echocardiography after completion of treatment. The same analysis was performed on matched controls.

RESULTS

There was no difference in age, gender, height, and weight between the study and control groups. The mean anthracycline dose was 240 ± 106 mg/m2 and the mean remission duration was 8.2 ± 5 years (1-20 years) in the study group. Conventional echocardiography showed similar ejection fraction, shortening fraction, and left ventricle end-diastolic diameter in both groups. Mitral lateral and septal tissue Doppler imaging showed normal but according to control group relatively sub-normal systolic and diastolic function in patient group. The global longitudinal and circumferential strain and strain rates were significantly lower in the patient group compared to control group. Correlation analysis revealed a negative and significant correlation between total anthracycline dose and global longitudinal and circumferential strain and strain rates.

CONCLUSION

Sub-clinical systolic and diastolic dysfunction may not be detected by conventional echocardiographic methods which are frequently used in daily practice. Sub-clinical systolic and diastolic dysfunction may be detected more sensitively by echocardiographic method such as speckle tracking echocardiography in childhood cancer survivors.

Can post-chemotherapy cardiotoxicity be detected in long-term survivors of breast cancer via comprehensive 3D left-ventricular contractility (strain) analysis?

PURPOSE

This study applied a novel and automated contractility analysis tool to investigate possible cardiotoxicity-related left-ventricular (LV) dysfunction in breast cancer patients following treatment with anti-neoplastic chemotherapy agents (CTA). Subclinical dysfunction otherwise undetected via LV ejection fraction (LVEF) was determined.

METHODS

Deformation data were acquired with the Displacement Encoding with Stimulated Echoes (DENSE) MRI sequence on 16 female patients who had CTA-based treatment. The contractility analysis tool consisting of image quantization-based boundary detection and the meshfree Radial Point Interpolation Method was used to compare chamber quantifications, 3D regional strains and torsion between patients and healthy subjects (N = 26 females with N = 14 age-matched). Quantifications of patient LVEFs from DENSE and Steady-State Free Precession (SSFP) acquisitions were compared, Bland-Altman interobserver agreements measured on their strain results and differences in contractile parameters with healthy subjects determined via Student's t-tests.

RESULTS

A significant difference was not found between DENSE and SSFP-based patient LVEFs at 58 ± 7% vs 57 ± 9%, p = 0.6. Bland-Altman agreements were - 0.01 ± 0.05 for longitudinal strain and 0.1 ± 1.3° for torsion. Differences in basal diameter indicating enlargement, 5.2 ± 0.5 cm vs 4.5 ± 0.5 cm, p < 0.01, and torsion, 4.7 ± 1.0° vs 8.1 ± 1.1°, p < 0.001 in the mid-ventricle and 5.9 ± 1.2° vs 10.2 ± 0.9°, p < 0.001 apically, were seen between patients and age-matched healthy subjects and similarly in longitudinal strain, but not in LVEF.

CONCLUSIONS

Results from the statistical analysis reveal the likelihood of LV remodeling in this patient subpopulation otherwise not indicated by LVEF measurements.

Case of Anthracycline-induced Cardiogenic Shock: A Call to Optimize Modifiable Cardiac Risk Factors Prior to Chemotherapy

Anthracyclines, including doxorubicin, are an important class of chemotherapeutic agents. Their efficacy, however, is limited by cardiotoxicity. Risk factors for anthracycline-associated cardiotoxicity include dose, treatment-specific risk factors including adjunctive radiotherapy, patient-specific modifiable cardiac risk factors including hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, tobacco use and obesity, and patient-specific non-modifiable risk factors such as age. The reduction of treatment-specific factors is not always possible, but treatment and reduction of modifiable risk factors should always be an important aspect of the management plan and may reduce the risk of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity. We present the case of a 65-year-old male with multiple modifiable cardiovascular risk factors who developed cardiogenic shock shortly after the administration of combination therapy with anthracyclines for the treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The association of reduced global longitudinal strain with cancer therapy-related cardiac dysfunction among patients receiving cancer therapy

BACKGROUND

Cardiotoxicity is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among patients receiving cancer therapy. The most commonly used definition is cancer therapy-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD) defined by a left ventricular ejection fraction reduction. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) has been implied to be superior in detecting early subclinical dysfunction.

OBJECTIVES

Evaluate the prevalence of reduced GLS and whether it is associated with CTRCD development among patients receiving cancer therapy.

METHODS

Data were collected as part of the Israel Cardio-Oncology Registry (ICOR), a prospective registry enrolling all adult patients receiving different types of cancer therapy, who were referred to the cardio-oncology clinic. Patients were divided into two groups-reduced GLS (> - 17%) vs. preserved GLS (≤ - 17%). Multivariable analyses were adjusted for a propensity score for baseline characteristics.

RESULTS

Among 291 consecutive patients, 48 (16%) patients were included in the reduced GLS group. Overall, 11 (5%) patients developed CTRCD at following echocardiogram evaluation. Patients with preserved GLS had a significantly lower risk for CTRCD development [odds ratio (OR) 0.11, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.03-0.41, p = 0.001], with every 1-unit improvement of GLS the risk of CTRCD decreased by 16% (OR 0.84, 95%CI 0.73-0.95, p = 0.007). After adjustment for baseline characteristics, including cardiovascular risk factors and systolic function, preserved GLS remained significantly associated with a lower risk for CTRCD development (OR 0.11, 95%CI 0.02-0.64, p = 0.014), with every 1-unit improvement lowering the risk by 19% (OR 0.81, 95%CI 0.67-0.98, p = 0.032).

CONCLUSIONS

Reduced GLS is common among patients receiving cancer therapy and may identify patients at increased risk for CTRCD development.

Assessment of left ventricular function by CMR versus MUGA scans in breast cancer patients receiving trastuzumab: a prospective observational study

Little is known about the comparison of multiple-gated acquisition (MUGA) scanning with cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) for serial monitoring of HER2+ breast cancer patients receiving trastuzumab. The association of cardiac biomarkers with CMR left ventricular (LV) function and volume is also not well studied. Our objectives were to compare CMR and MUGA for left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) assessment, and to examine the association between changes in brain natriuretic peptide (NT-BNP) and troponin-I and changes in CMR LV function and volume. This prospective longitudinal two-centre cohort study recruited HER2+ breast cancer patients between January 2010 and December 2013. MUGA, CMR, NT-BNP and troponin-I were performed at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months after trastuzumab initiation. In total, 41 patients (age 51.7 ± 10.8 years) were enrolled. LVEF comparison between MUGA and CMR demonstrated weak agreement (Lin's correlation coefficient r = 0.46, baseline; r = 0.29, 6 months; r = 0.42, 12 months; r = 0.39, 18 months; all p < 0.05). Bland-Altman plots demonstrated wide LVEF agreement limits (pooled agreement limits 3.0 ± 6.2). Both modalities demonstrated significant LVEF decline at 6 and 12 months from baseline, concomitant with increased LV volumes on CMR. Changes in NT-BNP correlated with changes in LV diastolic volume at 12 and 18 months (p < 0.05), and LV systolic volume at 18 months (p < 0.05). Changes in troponin-I did not correlate with changes in LV function or volume at any timepoint. In conclusion, CMR and MUGA LVEF are not interchangeable, warranting selection and utility of one modality for serial monitoring. CMR is useful due to less radiation exposure and accuracy of LV volume measurements. Changes in NT-BNP correlated with changes in LV volumes.

Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiomyopathy in Children

Doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in childhood cancer survivors is a growing problem. The population of patients at risk for cardiovascular disease is steadily increasing, as five-year survival rates for all types of childhood cancers continue to improve. Doxorubicin affects the developing heart differently from the adult heart and in a subset of exposed patients, childhood exposure leads to late, irreversible cardiomyopathy. Notably, the prevalence of late-onset toxicity is increasing in parallel with improved survival. By the year 2020, it is estimated that there will be 500,000 childhood cancer survivors and over 50,000 of them will suffer from doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity. The majority of the research to-date, concentrated on childhood cancer survivors, has focused mostly on clinical outcomes through well-designed epidemiological and retrospective cohort studies. Preclinical studies have elucidated many of the cellular mechanisms that elicit acute toxicity in cardiomyocytes. However, more research is needed in the areas of early- and late-onset cardiotoxicity and more importantly improving the scientific understanding of how other cells present in the cardiac milieu are impacted by doxorubicin exposure. The overall goal of this review is to succinctly summarize the major clinical and preclinical studies focused on doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity. As the prevalence of patients affected by doxorubicin exposure continues to increase, it is imperative that the major gaps in existing research are identified and subsequently utilized to develop appropriate research priorities for the coming years. Well-designed preclinical research models will enhance our understanding of the pathophysiology of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity and directly lead to better diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. © 2019 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 9:905-931, 2019.

NT-proBNP correlates with LVEF decline in HER2-positive breast cancer patients treated with trastuzumab

Background

Early identification of cardiac dysfunction by non-invasive imaging in HER2-positive breast cancer patients treated with trastuzumab is challenging. In particular multigated acquisition (MUGA) scan, which is most widely used, is unable to detect subclinical cardiac changes. The use of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), a serum biomarker of myocardial stress, might improve timely diagnosis.

Methods

This prospective, single-center, cohort study included patients with HER2-positive breast cancer who started trastuzumab therapy. Echocardiography was scheduled at regular intervals every 3 months during one year follow-up for cardiac function monitoring. For research purposes, NT-proBNP was determined at the same time points. Trastuzumab-induced cardiotoxicity (TIC) was the primary study endpoint, defined as a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 45%, and/or an absolute decline in LVEF > 10% since inclusion, and/or the incidence of a clinical cardiac event.

Results

A total of 135 patients were enrolled between April 2008 and June 2016, with a median age of 54 years (IQR: 47–61). By three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE), the median LVEF at baseline was 62% (IQR: 58–65). At a median of 6 months (IQR: 5–11), 45 patients (33%) reached the study endpoint of TIC. Patients with TIC had a mean change of − 9.5% in LVEF (95% CI -7.2 to − 11.7; p = 0.001) during 1 year of trastuzumab treatment. Both NT-proBNP at baseline (HR 1.04, 95% CI 1.02–1.07; p = 0.003) and LVEF decline during anthracycline treatment prior to the start of trastuzumab (HR 1.16, 95% CI 1.07–1.25; p < 0.001) were independently associated with development of TIC. The level of NT-proBNP during follow-up was associated too with development of TIC (HR 1.06 per 10 pmol/l difference, 95% CI 1.02–1.10; p = 0.008). No steadily or sudden increase in NT-proBNP prior to TIC was observed.

Conclusions

NT-proBNP cannot be used as a surrogate monitoring tool for trastuzumab-induced cardiotoxicity in HER2-positive breast cancer patients during the first year of treatment. Patients showing an LVEF decline during anthracycline pre-treatment appeared vulnerable for trastuzumab-induced cardiotoxicity.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s40959-019-0039-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Pretransplant Cardiac Evaluation Using Novel Technology

Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is a complex procedure that has been increasingly successful in treating malignant and nonmalignant conditions. Despite its effectiveness, it can be associated with potentially life-threatening adverse effects. New onset heart failure, ischemic disease, and arrhythmias are among the most notable cardiovascular complications post-HSCT. As a result, appropriate cardiac risk stratification prior to transplant could result in decreased morbidity and mortality by identifying patients with a higher probability of tolerating possible toxicities associated with HSCT. In this review, we aim to discuss the utility of cardiac screening using novel modalities of imaging technology in the pre-HSCT phase.

Heart failure following oncological treatment

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The aim of this review is to give the reader an up-to-date overview of the progress made in the burgeoning field of cardio-oncology, encompassing oncological treatments conferring risk, prediction strategies to identify patients at risk, imaging and biomarker monitoring for emergent or subclinical toxicity and prevention in primary and secondary settings with a focus on heart failure.

RECENT FINDINGS

The rapid recent advances in cancer management, particularly with the expansion of targeted and immunotherapies, have led to substantial improvements in outcome, but have also added to the potential causes of cardiac toxicity, which can lead to heart failure. Against this, there has been progression in the field of imaging for cardiac toxicity, identification of at-risk individuals and the clarification of the role of therapy for prevention and treatment of cardiac toxicity.

SUMMARY

The findings described in this review provide guidance to clinicians in order to direct monitoring strategy and therapy choice, both in the individual with preexisting cardiac comorbidities and in those predicted to be at the highest risk of cardiac toxicity wherever therapy elements carrying cardiac risk are considered oncologically appropriate.

Anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: NT-proBNP and cardiovascular score for risk stratification

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the role of N-terminal pro-brain-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and a cardiovascular (CV) risk score named FRESCO for predicting anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity (AIC) in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

METHODS

A total of 130 consecutive DLBCL patients treated in first-line with anthracycline-containing immunochemotherapy. Competitive risk between NT-proBNP, FRESCO, and time to AIC was considered.

RESULTS

Cumulative incidence of AIC was 12.2% and 17.5% at 1 and 5 years, respectively. Median time to development cardiotoxicity was 6.4 months, with half of the cases showing heart failure and the other half silent AIC. Both NT-proBNP levels and FRESCO score were independently associated with higher risk of AIC (P = 0.001 and P = 0.03, respectively). Patients with NT-proBNP ≥600 pg/mL or those with FRESCO ≥4.5% had 3.97 or 2.54 times higher risk of AIC than those with lower values (P = 0.001 and P = 0.048, respectively). According to the previous cutoffs, three groups of patients with a significantly different risk of AIC could be identified (P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Doxorubicin-containing chemotherapy is associated with increased risk of silent and overt AIC. Baseline NT-proBNP levels and FRESCO CV risk score are accurate predictors of AIC and can identify groups of patients at different risk, in which personalized cardiologic evaluation should be offered.

Therapy-induced cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients: a well-known yet unresolved problem

Breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer, being one of the main health issues that needs to be addressed worldwide. New therapies have led to a remarkable increase in survival rates, which is unfortunately overshadowed by their negative impact on cardiac structure and function in disease-free patients. Since anthracyclines and trastuzumab cause the most undesired outcome in breast cancer patients - cardiac-related mortality, they have been widely studied. However, other therapies (such as hormonal therapy, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, anti-VEGF drugs etc.) can also affect the cardiovascular system and lead to ischemia, hypertension or vascular thromboembolism. Even though excessive research has been conducted in thepast decades, there are still no guidelines regarding the most adequate methods neither to detect and prevent severe cardiotoxicity that can finally lead to heart failure and ultimately death nor for the further management of patients after cardiotoxicity is detected. Biomarkers of ischemia (troponins T and I) and of overload (BNP and NT-proBNP) in association with periodic echocardiographies (assessment of the global longitudinal strain) are two of the most important means used by physicians in the evaluation of cardiac disease in this group of patients. Given that no internationally accepted guidelines for screening and surveillance of different populations exist, the cardio-oncology team is crucial in the management of these patients, their collaboration resulting in individualized treatment regimens. After careful evaluation of different variables (treatment effects, malignancy status, and the patient's pre-existing conditions), a decision is made to either reduce the dosage or rate of administration, change the medication or interrupt the treatment and initiate the cardioprotective therapeutic associations. Consequently, it is an absolute necessity the development of customized treatment guidelines and the conduction of multiple clinical studies in order to demonstrate their effect on long-term survival.

Subclinical Left Ventricular Dysfunction During Chemotherapy

Subclinical left ventricular dysfunction is the most common cardiac complication after chemotherapy administration. Detection and early treatment are major issues for better cardiac outcomes in this cancer population. The most common definition of cardiotoxicity is a 10-percentage point decrease of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) to a value <53%. The myocardial injury induced by chemotherapies is probably a continuum starting with cardiac biomarkers increase before the occurence of a structural myocardial deformation leading to a LVEF decline. An individualised risk profile (depending on age, cardiovascular risk factors, type of chemotherapy, baseline troponin, baseline global longitudinal strain and baseline LVEF) has to be determined before starting chemotherapy to consider cardioprotective treatment. To date, there is no proof of a systematic cardioprotective treatment (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and/or beta-blocker) in all cancer patients. However, early cardioprotective treatment in case of subclinical left ventricular dysfunction seems to be promising in the prevention of cardiac events.

Healthcare cost prediction: Leveraging fine-grain temporal patterns

OBJECTIVE

To design and assess a method to leverage individuals' temporal data for predicting their healthcare cost. To achieve this goal, we first used patients' temporal data in their fine-grain form as opposed to coarse-grain form. Second, we devised novel spike detection features to extract temporal patterns that improve the performance of cost prediction. Third, we evaluated the effectiveness of different types of temporal features based on cost information, visit information and medical information for the prediction task.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We used three years of medical and pharmacy claims data from 2013 to 2016 from a healthcare insurer, where the first two years were used to build the model to predict the costs in the third year. To prepare the data for modeling and prediction, the time series data of cost, visit and medical information were extracted in the form of fine-grain features (i.e., segmenting each time series into a sequence of consecutive windows and representing each window by various statistics such as sum). Then, temporal patterns of the time series were extracted and added to fine-grain features using a novel set of spike detection features (i.e., the fluctuation of data points). Gradient Boosting was applied on the final set of extracted features. Moreover, the contribution of each type of data (i.e., cost, visit and medical) was assessed. We benchmarked the proposed predictors against extant methods including those that used coarse-grain features which represent each time series with various statistics such as sum and the most recent portion of the values in the entire series. All prediction performances were measured in terms of Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE).

RESULTS

Gradient Boosting applied on fine-grain predictors outperformed coarse-grain predictors with a MAPE of 3.02 versus 8.14 (p < 0.01). Enhancing the fine-grain features with the temporal pattern extraction features (i.e., spike detection features) further improved the MAPE to 2.04 (p < 0.01). Removing cost, visit and medical status data resulted in MAPEs of 10.24, 2.22 and 2.07 respectively (p < 0.01 for the first two comparisons and p = 0.63 for the third comparison).

CONCLUSIONS

Leveraging fine-grain temporal patterns for healthcare cost prediction significantly improves prediction performance. Enhancing fine-grain features with extraction of temporal cost and visit patterns significantly improved the performance. However, medical features did not have a significant effect on prediction performance. Gradient Boosting outperformed all other prediction models.

Cardiovascular imaging in cardio-oncology

Cancer therapy may lead to cardiovascular complications and can promote each aspect of cardiac disease manifestation, such as vascular disease including coronary heart disease, myocardial diseases including heart failure, structural heart diseases including valvular heart diseases, and rhythm disorders. All potential complications of cancer therapy onto the cardiovascular system require imaging for diagnostic workup as well as monitoring of therapy. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is the most frequently used tool for assessment of cardiac function during or after cancer therapy in daily clinical routine. With modern techniques like strain analysis, echocardiography allows to detect a variety of cardiac diseases as caused by cancer therapy even at subclinical stages. For further workup, specific imaging techniques including nuclear imaging are needed in a multimodality imaging approach to in detail characterize the underlying pathophysiology and to improve the management of the patients. Therefore, the field of imaging in cardio-oncology is rapidly growing. This review article will give an overview about existing literature regarding the role of imaging in the diagnostic evaluation and management of therapy in patient with prior or ongoing cancer therapy.

Prognostic and Added Value of Echocardiographic Strain for Prediction of Adverse Outcomes in Patients with Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer after Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy (RT) is potentially related to cardiotoxicity, which may partially offset the benefits of cancer treatment. We sought to evaluate subclinical myocardial dysfunction using speckle tracking echocardiography after RT and to explore the associations between early cardiac effects and adverse outcomes in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In total, 112 patients with stage III NSCLC who were scheduled to receive RT were prospectively recruited. A reduction in global longitudinal strain (GLS) was observed immediately after RT and at 6 mo after RT (6 m-RT). In multivariable analysis, the percentage change in GLS from baseline to 6 mo (ΔGLS%_{6 m-RT}) (hazard ratio = 1.202, 95% confidence interval: 1.095-1.320, p < 0.001) was an independent predictor of all-cause mortality. Based on receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, ΔGLS%_{6 m-RT} ≥13.65% had 65.9% sensitivity and 85.2% specificity for predicting mortality in NSCLC patients (area under the curve = 0.784, 95% confidence interval: 0.692-0.876, p < 0.001). These findings should encourage physicians to perform echocardiography early after RT.

Methods of diagnosis in cardio-oncology

Early diagnosis and advances in treatment have led to improved survival of patients with cancer, but have also increased morbidity and mortality due to treatment side effects. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are one of the most frequent of these side effects. As a result of the direct effects of radiation therapy and chemotherapy on heart and vessels сan be: acceleration of atherosclerosis, damage of cardiomyocytes and endothelium, and arterial and venous thrombosis. The direct effect of the cancer treatment on the heart is called cardiotoxicity. Early diagnosis and identification of patients at high risk of cardiotoxicity is the first step towards successful prevention of CVD in cancer patients without compromising cancer care, which ultimately leads to a reduction in mortality. Echocardiography is the method of choice for the detection of myocardial dysfunction during and after cancer therapy. New methods of imaging like three-dimensional echocardiography, speckle-tracking echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance show a higher sensitivity in detecting of early myocardial dysfunction during cancer therapy. This review outlines the main diagnostic algorithms and approaches used in cardiooncology.

Biomarkers for the detection of apparent and subclinical cancer therapy-related cardiotoxicity

Progress in cancer therapy over the past decades improved long-term survival but increased cancer therapy-related cardiotoxicity. Many novel treatment options have been implemented with yet incompletely characterized cardiovascular side effects including heart failure, coronary artery disease, arrhythmias, valvular disease, venous thromboembolism and myocarditis. Diagnosis of potential cardiotoxic side effects is essential for an optimal treatment but remains challenging. Cardiac biomarkers troponin and brain natriuretic peptide/N-terminal proBNP (BNP/NT-proBNP) have been extensively studied in heart failure and acute coronary syndromes. Emerging evidence implicates a significant role in the detection of cardiotoxicity and guidance of therapy in cancer patients. Elevated troponin or BNP/NT-proBNP levels were associated with increased all-cause mortality in cancer patients and have been shown to predict manifest heart failure. BNP/NT-proBNP may be useful for the prediction of cancer therapy-related heart failure and response to heart failure therapy in adult and pediatric cancer patients while troponin can indicate acute myocardial infarction in patients with cancer therapy-related risk for coronary artery disease. Furthermore, troponin may be used for the identification of immune checkpoint inhibitor-related myocarditis with very high sensitivity. Finally, even D-dimer levels have been shown to improve risk stratification and diagnosis in cancer-associated venous thromboembolism. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge about biomarkers in cancer therapy-related cardiotoxicity. We also outline possible clinical recommendations for the detection and treatment of subclinical and clinically apparent cardiotoxic effects using biomarkers.

Cardio-oncology: Understanding cardiotoxicity to guide patient focused imaging

Current cancer therapy has led to tremendous improvements in outcomes. These therapies rely both on established therapies, such as anthracyclines and radiation, and molecularly-targeted therapies, such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immune modulators. Integrative care for patients with cancer must consider the potential effects of these therapies on a variety of organ systems, including the cardiovascular system. As a result, specialties such as cardio-oncology have developed to identify these effects, determine how to best monitor for these effects, and how to treat and ultimately prevent these effects while allowing the patient to receive the therapy they require for their cancer. This review provides a basis for understanding the cardiovascular effects of cancer therapies so that the most appropriate imaging modality may be selected to prevent and treat these effects.

The breast cancer patient in the cardioncology unit

The breakthroughs of breast cancer management have led to a significant improvement in patient survival. However, to obtain this outcome a considerable price has been paid regarding cardiovascular side effects. Indeed, cardiovascular disease is the main cause of mortality in patients with breast cancer over fifty years of age, contributing more than cancer mortality in older cancer survivors. Thus, the identification and the management of patients with breast cancer at risk for cardiovascular events has become critical in order to reduce morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular toxicity due to cancer therapy, which may blunt its effectiveness. Today, cardioncology is a novel and recognized medical discipline, which aims to encourage a close interaction between cardiology and oncology, explore new strategies, collect evidence-based indications, and develop interdisciplinary expertise with the ultimate goal of minimize the risk of developing cardiovascular disease during and after anticancer therapy, prevent the breast cancer patient cured today from becoming the heart patient of tomorrow, and avoiding the possibility that pre-existent cardiac disease be a barrier leading to a reduction of a patient's therapeutic opportunities. In this review we discussed the advantages of a cardioncology approach in terms of risk stratification, monitoring for early diagnosis, prevention, and early treatment of cardiotoxicity.

Echocardiographic Assessment for the Detection of Cardiotoxicity Due to Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Inhibitor Therapy in Metastatic Renal Cell and Colorectal Cancers

BACKGROUND

Cardio-oncology is a recently established discipline that focuses on the management of patients with cancer who are at risk for developing cardiovascular complications as a result of their underlying oncologic treatment. In metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) and metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor (VEGF-i) therapy is commonly used to improve overall survival. Although these novel anticancer drugs may lead to the development of cardiotoxicity, whether early detection of cardiac dysfunction using serial echocardiography could potentially prevent the development of heart failure in this patient population requires further study. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography in the detection of cardiotoxicity due to VEGF-i therapy in patients with mCRC or mRCC.

METHODS

Patients with mRCC or mCRC were evaluated using serial echocardiography at baseline and 1, 3, and 6 months following VEGF-i treatment.

RESULTS

A total of 40 patients (34 men; mean age, 63 ± 9 years) receiving VEGF-i therapy were prospectively recruited at two academic centers: 26 (65%) were receiving sunitinib, eight (20%) pazopanib, and six (15%) bevacizumab. The following observations were made: (1) 8% of patients developed clinically asymptomatic cancer therapeutics-related cardiac dysfunction; (2) 30% of patients developed clinically significant decreases in global longitudinal strain, a marker for early subclinical cardiac dysfunction; (3) baseline abnormalities in global longitudinal strain may identify a subset of patients at higher risk for developing cancer therapeutics-related cardiac dysfunction; and (4) new or worsening hypertension was the most common adverse cardiovascular event, afflicting nearly one third of the study population.

CONCLUSIONS

Cardiac dysfunction defined by serial changes in myocardial strain assessed using two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography occurs in patients undergoing treatment with VEGF-i for mCRC or mRCC, which may provide an opportunity for preventive interventions.

Usefulness of Global Longitudinal Strain for Early Identification of Subclinical Left Ventricular Dysfunction in Patients With Active Cancer

Cardiotoxicity from cancer therapy has become a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in cancer survivors. The most commonly used definition is cancer therapeutic related cardiac dysfunction defined as a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) reduction of >10%, to a value below 50%. However, according to the recent American and European Society of Echocardiography, global longitudinal strain (GLS) is the optimal parameter for early detection of subclinical left ventricular dysfunction. The objective of this study was to evaluate the frequency of GLS reduction in patients with active cancer and its correlation to other echocardiographic parameters. Data were collected as part of the International Cardio-Oncology Registry. All patients performed at least 2 echocardiograms including GLS. We evaluated the frequency of GLS reduction (≥10% relative reduction), its correlation to LVEF reduction and whether there are other predicting echocardiographic parameters. In 64 consecutive patients, 12 (19%) had ≥10% GLS relative reduction, of which 75% had no concomitant ejection fraction reduction. There were no significant differences in the baseline cardiac risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, or smoking). Treatment with Doxorubicin, Pertuzumab, or Ifosfamide was significantly more frequent in patients GLS reduction. No other echocardiographic parameters, including diastolic function or systolic pulmonary artery pressure were significant predictors for GLS reduction. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that GLS reduction is frequent in active cancer patients, precedes LVEF reduction and cannot be anticipated by other echocardiographic parameters. Using GLS routinely during therapy may lead to an early diagnosis of cardiotoxicity.

Frequency of Transition From Stage A to Stage B Heart Failure After Initiating Potentially Cardiotoxic Chemotherapy

OBJECTIVES

This study sought to determine the prevalence of American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Foundation (AHA/ACCF) heart failure (HF) stages after potentially cardiotoxic chemotherapy was initiated.

BACKGROUND

For individuals receiving potentially cardiotoxic chemotherapy, the frequency of transitioning from Stage A to more advanced HF stages is not well described.

METHODS

In 143 Stage A HF patients with breast cancer, lymphoma and leukemia, renal cell carcinoma, or sarcoma prior to and then at 3, 6, and 12 to 24 months after potentially cardiotoxic chemotherapy was initiated, we obtained blinded cardiac magnetic resonance measurements of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).

RESULTS

Three months after potentially cardiotoxic chemotherapy was initiated, 18.9% of patients transitioned from Stage A to Stage B HF. A total of 83% and 80% of patients with Stage A HF at 3 months, respectively, exhibited Stage A HF at 6 and 12 to 24 months; 68% and 56% of those with Stage B HF at 3 months, respectively, exhibited Stage B HF at 6 and 12 to 24 months (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.026, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Transitioning from Stage A to Stage B or remaining in Stage A HF 3 months after potentially cardiotoxic chemotherapy was initiated relates to longer-term (6 to 24 months post-treatment) assessments of HF stage.

Unmet Needs and Therapeutic Strategies in Cardio-Hemato-Oncology

With the increasing survival of cancer patients and therapeutic advancements, the cardiovascular complications of therapy have become a significant issue. A dedicated, integrated team is important in providing the balance between acquiring a hematological/oncological response and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This article aims to shed light on this field - providing some examples of therapies with cardiotoxic potential as well as the cardiologist's approach to patient assessment before, during, and after therapy.

Cancer and the Broken Heart: Complications and Implications of Therapy-Related Cardiotoxicity

The growing number of adult long-term cancer survivors has expanded our knowledge of negative physiologic sequelae associated with curative therapies. Of note are the cardiovascular corollaries of chest radiotherapy and some commonly used chemotherapy agents. A contemporary understanding of risk factors has facilitated the development of guidelines for prevention and surveillance of cardiac compromise. The future holds promise with enhanced opportunities to use cardioprotectant drugs and biomarkers to prevent and detect early myocardial changes. Infusion therapy nurses must keep abreast of these developments to facilitate their roles as patient educators and advocates in the face of this toxicity's prevalence.

Global Longitudinal Strain Accuracy for Cardiotoxicity Prediction in a Cohort of Breast Cancer Patients During Anthracycline and/or Trastuzumab Treatment

Background

The high cardiotoxicity morbidity and mortality rates associated with the antineoplastic therapy for breast cancer could be reduced with the early use of cardioprotective drugs. However, the low sensitivity of left ventricular ejection fraction limits its use in that preventive strategy. New parameters, such as global longitudinal strain, are being used in the early detection of contractile function changes.

Objectives

To assess the incidence of cardiotoxicity in patients treated for breast cancer, the independent factors associated with that event, and the ability of strain to identify it early.

Methods

Prospective observational study of consecutive outpatients diagnosed with breast cancer, with no previous antineoplastic treatment and no ventricular dysfunction, who underwent anthracycline and/or trastuzumab therapy. The patients were quarterly evaluated on a 6- to 12-month follow-up by an observer blind to therapy. Cox regression was used to evaluate the association of cardiotoxicity with clinical, therapeutic and echocardiographic variables. A ROC curve was built to identify the strain cutoff point on the third month that could predict the ejection fraction reduction on the sixth month. For all tests, the statistical significance level adopted was p ≤ 0.05.

Results

Of 49 women (mean age, 49.7 ± 12.2 years), cardiotoxicity was identified in 5 (10%) on the third (n = 2) and sixth (n = 3) months of follow-up. Strain was independently associated with the event (p = 0.004; HR = 2.77; 95%CI: 1.39-5.54), with a cutoff point for absolute value of -16.6 (AUC = 0.95; 95%CI: 0.87-1.0) or a cutoff point for percentage reduction of 14% (AUC = 0.97; 95%CI: 0.9-1.0).

Conclusion

The 14% reduction in strain (absolute value of -16.6) allowed the early identification of patients who could develop anthracycline and/or trastuzumab-induced cardiotoxicity.

Comparison of Conventional and Advanced Echocardiographic Techniques in Early Detection of Cardiotoxicity in Patients Undergoing Cancer Chemotherapy

Context: The assessment of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is the most important component in prediction and detection of cardiotoxicity in patients undergoing cancer chemotherapy. LVEF may not be sensitive enough to pick the cardiotoxicity early since drop in LVEF occurs in the last and irreversible stage. A 10%–15% early reduction in global longitudinal strain (GLS) by speckle tracking echocardiography proposed to be the earliest indicator of myocardial dysfunction. Aims: The aim of this study was to compare the early detection of cardiotoxicity (at 0 and 3 months) using drop in LVEF with two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE), three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE), and GLS techniques. Settings and Design: This was a prospective cohort study of patients attending cardiooncology clinic in a tertiary care institute. Subjects and Methods: Newly diagnosed 75 cases of cancer of various etiologies, for whom cardiotoxic chemotherapy drugs has to be used, were included from January 2016 to June 2016. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed with Pearson’s Chi-square test, mean, standard deviation, and 95% confidence interval. Results: A total of 17 (22.6%) subjects out of 75, had drop in LVEF by GLS (<−18.9%) as compared to 5 (6.6%) in 2DE and 7 (9.3%) in 3DE at 3 months with statistically significant P values (P = 0.0001). In the 17 subjects who had significant fall in GLS at 3 months, the mean GLS was −16.17 ± 1.55% with a significant reduction of 13.48% from baseline. Conclusion: Reduction in GLS preceded decrease in ejection fraction. Early detection allows modification of chemotherapeutic regimens and medical intervention preventing the irreversible cardiac damage.

Two-Dimensional Speckle Tracking Echocardiography-Derived Strain Measurements in Survivors of Childhood Cancer on Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibition or Receptor Blockade

Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE)-derived strain indices are believed to detect early cardiac dysfunction in survivors of childhood cancer and have potential to identify patients who may benefit from early heart failure treatment. However, effects of heart failure treatment on STE-derived strain measurements in this population are unknown. The aim of this study was to assess STE-derived strain measurements in survivors of childhood cancer treated with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition or receptor blockade (ACEi/ARB). Two-dimensional speckle tracking analysis was retrospectively performed on echocardiograms from childhood cancer survivors before and during therapy with ACEi/ARB. Global left ventricular longitudinal and circumferential strain (GLS and GCS) and strain rates (LSR and CSR) were assessed and correlated with conventional echocardiographic measures of function. In 22 childhood cancer survivors (median age: 14.8, range 6.4-21.6 years), mean GLS (- 13.83 ± 0.74% to - 15.94 ± 0.74%, p = 0.002), GCS (- 18.79 ± 1.21% to - 20.74 ± 0.84%, p = 0.027), LSR (- 0.78 ± 0.04 to - 0.88 ± 0.04 s^-1, p = 0.022), and CSR (- 1.08 ± 0.07 to - 1.21 ± 0.06 s^-1, p = 0.027) improved on therapy. Improvement in GLS was maintained for greater than 1 year on ACEi/ARB (p = 0.02). Measures of strain and strain rate correlated with standard echocardiographic measures of function and were reproducible. These findings support the use of ACEi/ARB to treat post-chemotherapy-related cardiovascular changes in childhood cancer survivors, provide proof-of-concept that STE-derived strain and strain rate may be used to reliably monitor cardiac function during therapy, and support continued investigation into the clinical benefit of strain measurements in this population.

Protecting the heart in cancer therapy

Recent advances in cancer prevention and management have led to an exponential increase of cancer survivors worldwide. Regrettably, cardiovascular disease has risen in the aftermath as one of the most devastating consequences of cancer therapies. In this work, we define cancer therapeutics-induced cardiotoxicity as the direct or indirect cardiovascular injury or injurious effect caused by cancer therapies. We describe four progressive stages of this condition and four corresponding levels of prevention, each having a specific goal, focus, and means of action. We subsequently unfold this didactic framework, surveying mechanisms of cardiotoxicity, risk factors, cardioprotectants, biomarkers, and diagnostic imaging modalities. Finally, we outline the most current evidence-based recommendations in this area according to multidisciplinary expert consensus guidelines.