Anthracycline-Induced Cardiotoxicity: Time to Focus on Cardioprotection Again

Anthracyclines have been in clinical use for decades due to their anti-neoplastic effects in many cancers including breast cancer, leukaemia, lymphoma, sarcoma, lung cancer and multiple myeloma, however the effective use of these agents is limited by the danger of cardiotoxicity [1]. Incidence of cardiotoxicity in patients treated with anthracyclines varies according to cardiotoxicity definition, but has been reported as high as 26% for heart failure and 36% for left ventricular dysfunction [2,3], with the major predicting factor being anthracycline cumulative dose.
Source: Heart, Lung and Circulation - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research