A case series about the favorable effects of sacubitril/valsartan on anthracycline cardiomyopathy

Abstract

Anthracyclines are the cornerstone of treatment for many solid and hematological cancers such as breast cancer or lymphoma for the past 50 years. Nevertheless, in a non-negligible proportion of patients, they elicit dilated cardiomyopathy as a side effect, which causes in turn cardiac decompensation. Conversely, for some years, sacubitril/valsartan has been proposed as a new therapeutic paradigm for all varieties of heart failure with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction, due to its balanced enhancement of natriuretic peptides’ properties coupled with a blocking effect on the AT1 angiotensin receptors. In this article, two clinical cases are illustrated in which the therapeutic action of sacubitril/valsartan against anthracycline cardiomyopathy would seem to be demonstrated by the improvement of symptoms and echocardiographic parameters. Thus, further studies would be warranted for better evaluating the potential role of sacubitril/valsartan as a novel therapeutic tool against anthracycline cardiotoxicity.