Longitudinal rotation: a new way to detect the cardiotoxicity of anthracycline-based chemotherapy in breast cancer patients

Background and aims: The study was to compare cardiac parameters before and after anthracycline-based chemotherapy and identify a parameter for detecting cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients. Methods: Cardiac function in 43 female breast cancer patients was evaluated at three time points: baseline, 1-3 days before the initiation of anthracycline-based chemotherapy; 3 weeks and 6 months after the final cycle of chemotherapy. At each visit, the peak longitudinal velocity; strain rate; peak systolic strain; peak systolic longitudinal displacement, and segmental and global longitudinal rotation degrees of the left ventricular were measured. Results: The peak early-diastole left ventricular wall velocity at baseline was significantly higher than the values at 3 weeks and 6 months after the final cycle of chemotherapy. The absolute value of the lateral wall peak systolic longitudinal rotation degrees was significantly higher at baseline than at 3 weeks and 6 months after the final cycle of chemotherapy, whereas the absolute value of the global peak systolic longitudinal rotation degrees at baseline was significantly lower than the values at 3 weeks and 6 months after the final cycle of chemotherapy. None of the measured parameters differed significantly between the 3 weeks and 6 months after the final cycle of chemotherapy. Conclusions: Cardiac diastolic and systolic dysfunction was found after anthracycline-based chemotherapy in this study, and the peak systolic longitudinal rotation degrees can be used to detect dysfunction after chemotherapy. The cardiotoxicity of epirubicin-based chemotherapy is stronger than that of therarubicin-based chemotherapy.