Canadian journal of physiology and pharmacology
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Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. · Jul 2014
ReviewCatching broken hearts: pre-clinical detection of doxorubicin and trastuzumab mediated cardiac dysfunction in the breast cancer setting.
Although breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death in women worldwide, there is an overall improvement in the survival of this patient population. This is likely due to a combination of early detection through screening and awareness, improved targeted biological therapy, and an overall improvement in disease management. ⋯ The occurrence of left ventricular systolic dysfunction is unacceptably high in nearly 1 in 4 women treated with DOX+TRZ in the breast cancer setting. In this review, we explore the use of non-invasive cardiac imaging for the early detection of chemotherapy-mediated cardiotoxicity in women with breast cancer, in the hope of preventing end-stage heart disease in this cancer population.