A Systematic Review on Cardioprotection Strategies to Prevent Breast Cancer Therapy Cardiotoxicity

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignancy among women on a global scale, affecting an average of 2.1 million individuals annually. In addition, several studies have shown that it is often treated using chemotherapy drugs and targeted therapy, but these treatment methods have been reported to have side effects on the cardiovascular system. This indicates that there is a need to develop new and effective strategies to prevent the associated side effects. Therefore, this systematic review aims to obtain cardioprotection strategies to prevent cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy or targeted therapy. Methods: Data collection was carried out using the online database PubMed with keywords ((cardioprotection) AND (breast cancer therapy) AND (cardiotoxic) OR (Cardiac dysfunction.)) From the initial search, a total of 150 studies were obtained, while articles that did not meet the eligibility criteria were excluded. Furthermore, the articles were reviewed using full-text reading, leading to the inclusion of nineteen in this systematic review. Results: A total of eleven studies evaluated the effect of cardio-protective drugs on Anthracycline (ANT), and nine assessed Trastuzumab. The results showed that eight studies used Beta-blocker (BB) as cardio-protective strategies, while one, one, three, two, one, one, and one utilized Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB), ARB + Beta-blocker, ACE-inhibitor (ACE-I) + Beta-blocker, ACE-I/ARB/BB, spironolactone, statin, and Dexrazoxane (DZR), respectively. In large reports, the risk of CTRCD was reduced by the use of a combination of RAAS inhibitors and Beta-blockers. Furthermore, spironolactone, statins, and DZR mitigated the decrease in LVEF compared to the control group in small studies. Conclusions: Based on the results, chemotherapy decreased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and induced heart failure. Furthermore, the review showed that a combination of reninangiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors and Beta-blockers reduced CTRCD. Future studies in larger settings were needed to investigate the efficacy of other strategies, such as statins, Spironolactone, exercise, and DZR.