Objective: Chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity is a major and leading cause of death in breast cancer survivors. It can present decades after chemotherapy and can manifest in different ways; some chemotherapeutic agents have a powerful dose-dependent relationship with cardiotoxicity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of rosuvastatin on preventing chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity in patients with breast cancer.
Methods: Our study was a randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled trial that involved 89 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer who were scheduled to receive chemotherapy. Patients were randomly assigned to receive rosuvastatin or a placebo in a 1:1 ratio for 6 months. Echocardiography, using 2-dimensional (2D) Doppler, tissue Doppler, and speckle-tracking methods, was used to determine the absolute changes in the left ventricular systolic ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV), left atrial (LA) diameter, transmitral Doppler early diastolic velocity (E wave), tissue Doppler early diastolic (e') and peak systolic (s') mitral annular velocities, E/e' ratio, and global longitudinal systolic strain.
Results: The LVEF was significantly reduced in the placebo group at the end of the study when compared with the baseline value. However, there was no significant difference in the LVEF in the intervention group (intergroup P = .012). Furthermore, compared with the intervention group at the end of the study, there was a significant increase in the 4- and 2-chamber LVESV, LA diameter, and E/e' ratio in the placebo group (intergroup P = .019, P = .024, P < .001, and P = .021, respectively) and a significant decrease in the e' and s' velocities in the placebo group (intergroup P < .001 and P < .006, respectively).
Conclusions: The present study showed that the prophylactic use of rosuvastatin may prevent the development of chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity.
Keywords: cardio protection; chemotherapy; left ventricular dysfunction; strain.