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. 2021 May 13:12:661464.
doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.661464. eCollection 2021.

Arterial Stiffness: Effects of Anticancer Drugs Used for Breast Cancer Women

Giuseppina Novo  1 , Daniela Di Lisi  1 , Roberta Manganaro  2 , Girolamo Manno  1 , Simone Lazzara  1 , Federico Angelo Immordino  1 , Cristina Madaudo  1 , Scipione Carerj  2 , Antonio Russo  3 , Lorena Incorvaia  4 , Concetta Zito  2
Affiliations

Arterial Stiffness: Effects of Anticancer Drugs Used for Breast Cancer Women

Giuseppina Novo et al. Front Physiol. .

Abstract

Purpose: It is well known that anticancer drugs used for treating breast cancer can cause cardiac toxicity, and less is known about vascular toxicity. The aim of this study was to assess subclinical vascular effects of anthracyclines and trastuzumab (TRZ) in women treated for breast cancer. Methods: We enrolled 133 female patients with breast cancer undergoing adjuvant treatment with anthracycline-containing chemotherapy (CT) followed by taxane (paclitaxel/docetaxel) + TRZ. Patients underwent a standard echocardiography including measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction and global longitudinal strain at baseline and at follow-up. Vascular toxicity was evaluated by measuring brachial blood pressure (BP) and arterial stiffness indices (pulse wave velocity and Beta stiffness index) at T0 (baseline), T1 (3 months), T2 (6 months), and T3 (12 months). Results: Arterial stiffness indices were significantly increased at T1 in patients treated with anthracycline-containing CT (PWV 5.5 m/s IQR 5.15-6.4 at T0 vs. PWV 6.7 m/s IQR 5.6-7.2 at T1, p < 0.05; Beta index PWV 6.7 IQR 5.25-6.65 at T0, PWV 8.35 IQR 6.5-10.15 at T1, p < 0.05) but not at T2 and T3, when treatment with anthracyclines was stopped and patients were under treatment with taxane and TRZ. Blood pressure values did not significantly change during follow-up. Conclusion: Changes in arterial stiffness parameters occur early after starting treatment with anthracyclines, and they seem to be reversible if anthracycline treatment is stopped. These changes are not influenced by blood pressure values modifications. Therefore, in breast cancer women, anthracyclines seem to cause early reversible subclinical vascular injury.

Keywords: arterial stiffness; cardiotoxicity; chemotherapy; pulse wave velocity; vascular injury.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Changes in arterial stiffness parameters during follow-up. p < 0.05 at T1 compared to T0 either for PWV and beta index.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Changes in global longitudinal strain during follow-up. p < 0.05 at anytime compared to T0.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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