Background: Side effects of chemotherapy in cancer patients need to be investigated in more detail.
Aim: To determine the incidence of cardiotoxicity in patients treated with different chemotherapy regimens containing 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in Zanjan, Iran.
Patients and methods: In a prospective cohort study, patients with different types of solid gastrointestinal tumors who were candidates for 5-FU based chemotherapy regimens were enrolled. The study population consisted of 100 patients (48 females and 52 males) with a mean age of 63.99 ± 12.40 years. We measured serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels before and during each chemotherapy cycle and determined the occurrence of cardiotoxicity in patients based on the levels of cTnI, clinical signs and symptoms as well as electrocardiogram findings. In addition, we assessed a history of diabetes, hypertension, smoking, dyslipidemia and previous chest radiation as potential risk factors for cardiotoxicity.
Results: The incidence of cardiotoxicity was 8%, of which 5 patients were diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome, 2 patients with arrhythmias and one with hypotension. In addition, there was no significant association between studied risk factors and 5-FU induced cardiotoxicity.
Conclusion: The incidence of cardiotoxicity in patients receiving 5-FU infusion regimens was notable. Thus, paying more attention to the 5-FU-induced cardiotoxicity is necessary in order to improve the prognosis of patients with cancer.