Diagnosis and Prediction of Taxanes Induced Cardiac Dysfunction

Breast cancer represents the most frequent form of neoplasia in women worldwide, being responsible of 1.6% of annual deaths. Therefore, it is a major public health issue and research in this field should be a priority. Taxanes, such as paclitaxel and docetaxel, are extremely powerful antineoplastic drugs, which alone or in association to anthracyclines, increase survival and lower the recurrence rate of cancer, but their use is limited by cardiotoxicity. Cardiotoxicity can appear early or late after therapy, and may vary from subclinical myocardial dysfunction to irreversible heart failure. Currently, cardiac dysfunction induced by taxanes is diagnosed through classical echocardiographic parameters. However, these cannot detect subtle, early changes of cardiac structure and function. Consequently, description of new parameters, which could detect cardiac dysfunction in an early stage, becomes essential for detecting the group of patients at risk for irreversible heart failure. The objectives of the investigators project, in patients with breast cancer treated with taxanes, are to investigate their mechanisms which lead to cardiac dysfunction, to describe new parameters for the early diagnosis of cardiotoxicity, and to define predictive models for cardiotoxicity. Meanwhile, project will publish the results in prestigious journals, leading to an increase of the visibility of Romanian research internationally.

Sex

All

Minimum age

18 Years

Maximum age

80 Years

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age over 18 years
2. Informed consent signed
3. Patients with early breast cancer, scheduled to receive chemotherapy
4. LVEF \> 50% and LVSF \> 20%.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Any history of cardiovascular disease and/or active cardiovascular treatment
2. Diabetes mellitus
3. Mediastinal irradiation.