Chih-Hsin Lee1,2,3, Jun-Fu Zhang1, Kevin Sheng-Po Yuan4, Alexander T H Wu5, Szu-Yuan Wu6,7,8,9. 1. Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. 2. Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. 3. Epidemiology and Bioinformatics Center, Wan fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. 4. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. 5. Ph.D. Program for Translational Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. 6. Institute of Clinical Science, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. szuyuanwu5399@gmail.com. 7. Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. szuyuanwu5399@gmail.com. 8. Department of Radiation Oncology, Wan Fang Medical Center, Taipei Medical University, No. 111, Section 3, Hsing-Long Road, 116, Taipei, Taiwan. szuyuanwu5399@gmail.com. 9. Epidemiology and Bioinformatics Center, Wan fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. szuyuanwu5399@gmail.com.
Abstract
PURPOSE: The risk of cardiotoxicity induced by adjuvant anthracycline-based chemotherapy (CT) and radiotherapy (RT) is yet to be investigated in a large-scale randomized controlled trial with an adequate sample size of young and old women with breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: To compare the occurrence of major heart events (heart failure and coronary artery disease) in patients with breast cancer, 3489 women who underwent surgical resection of the breast tumor were retrospectively selected from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. The patients were categorized into the following groups based on their treatment modalities: group 1 (n = 1113), no treatment; group 2 (n = 646), adjuvant RT alone; group 3 (n = 705), adjuvant anthracycline-based CT alone; and group 4 (n = 1025), combined adjuvant RT and anthracycline-based CT. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 50.35 years. Subsequent coronary artery disease and heart failure were identified in 244 (7.0%) and 206 (5.9%) patients, respectively. All three adjuvant therapies were significant independent prognostic factors of major heart events (adjusted hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.47 [1.24-1.73]; 1.48 [1.25-1.75], and 1.92 [1.65-2.23] in groups 2, 3, and 4, respectively). In patients aged ≥50 years with breast cancer who underwent surgery, the log-rank p values of groups 2 and 3 after adjustment were 0.537 and 0.001, respectively. CONCLUSION:Adjuvant RT can increase cardiotoxicity in patients with breast cancer, particularly when used in combination with anthracycline-based CT. Therefore, it should be offered with optimal heart-sparing techniques, particularly in younger patients with good prognosis and long life expectancy.
RCT Entities:
PURPOSE: The risk of cardiotoxicity induced by adjuvant anthracycline-based chemotherapy (CT) and radiotherapy (RT) is yet to be investigated in a large-scale randomized controlled trial with an adequate sample size of young and old women with breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: To compare the occurrence of major heart events (heart failure and coronary artery disease) in patients with breast cancer, 3489 women who underwent surgical resection of the breast tumor were retrospectively selected from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. The patients were categorized into the following groups based on their treatment modalities: group 1 (n = 1113), no treatment; group 2 (n = 646), adjuvant RT alone; group 3 (n = 705), adjuvant anthracycline-based CT alone; and group 4 (n = 1025), combined adjuvant RT and anthracycline-based CT. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 50.35 years. Subsequent coronary artery disease and heart failure were identified in 244 (7.0%) and 206 (5.9%) patients, respectively. All three adjuvant therapies were significant independent prognostic factors of major heart events (adjusted hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.47 [1.24-1.73]; 1.48 [1.25-1.75], and 1.92 [1.65-2.23] in groups 2, 3, and 4, respectively). In patients aged ≥50 years with breast cancer who underwent surgery, the log-rank p values of groups 2 and 3 after adjustment were 0.537 and 0.001, respectively. CONCLUSION: Adjuvant RT can increase cardiotoxicity in patients with breast cancer, particularly when used in combination with anthracycline-based CT. Therefore, it should be offered with optimal heart-sparing techniques, particularly in younger patients with good prognosis and long life expectancy.
Entities:
Keywords:
Anthracycline; Breast cancer; Cardiotoxicity; Old; Radiotherapy
Authors: Daniel Levy; Satish Kenchaiah; Martin G Larson; Emelia J Benjamin; Michelle J Kupka; Kalon K L Ho; Joanne M Murabito; Ramachandran S Vasan Journal: N Engl J Med Date: 2002-10-31 Impact factor: 91.245
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