Frontiers in Oncology (Dec 2014)
Cardiovascular toxicities from systemic breast cancer therapy
Abstract
Cardiovascular toxicity is unfortunately a potential short- or long-term sequela of breast cancer therapy. Both conventional chemotherapeutic agents such as anthracyclines as well as newer targeted agents such as trastuzumab can cause varying degrees of cardiac dysfunction. Type I cardiac toxicity is dose-dependent and irreversible, whereas Type II is not dose-dependent and is generally reversible with cessation of the drug. In this review we discuss what is currently known about the cardiovascular effects of systemic breast cancer treatments, with a focus on the putative mechanisms of toxicity, the role of biomarkers, and potential methods of preventing and minimizing cardiovascular complications.
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