Early diaqnosis of heart failure in patients that developed as a result of anthracycline containing combined chemotherapy

Background The most important side effect of anthracycline chemotherapy (CT) regimens, which are widely used in breast cancer patients, is cardiotoxicity, which limits its use in therapeutic doses and is important for its early detection. Aim The main goal of the research is to study the early diagnosis of heart failure (HF) developed as a result of anti-cancer combined chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer. Material and methods The research group consisted of prospective patients, comprising 70 women who were diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time, based on their medical records. All patients underwent cardiological examinations both before the start of CT, and during the inter-course periods of the treatment, as well as one year later the treatment. The control group was formed on the basis of the data of 50 female patients with confirmed breast cancer diagnosis, who did not undergo cardiology examinations during the intervals between treatment courses. All patients in the group also underwent the necessary complex examinations to evaluate cardiac function before starting CT, immediately after treatment and one year later treatment. Results Among patients who did not undergo cardiology examinations during the inter-course period after one year of CT, 36% developed HF with preserved ejection fraction (EF), 54,0% developed HF with mildly reduced EF, and 10,0% developed HF with reduced EF. Among patients who underwent cardiology examinations during the inter-course period, 74,3% developed HF with preserved EF, 12,9% developed HF with mildly reduced Ef, and no patients developed HF with reduced EF (pu<0,001). Conclusion Regular use of TTE in early diagnosis of the HF component of developing cardiotoxicity in low-risk breast cancer patients treated with definite cardiotoxic combination CT 4th, 8th, and 1 year post-treatment LVEF should be kept under control.An increase in NT-proBNP, even at very low levels, should be considered as a high-risk indicator in the early diagnosis of preserved HF in patients with breast cancer undergoing CT combined with Anthracyclines. It should be checked on the 4th, 8th of the treatment course, after the end of the treatment and 1 year later.