The efficacy of biomarkers indexes in comparison with Echocardiography in assessment of antracycline induced cardiotoxicity in cancer patients

Abstract

Background: Anthracyclines are the most frequent cause of treatment-induced cardiotoxicity and can cause severe morbidity and mortality during the life. Objective: The aim of the present study was to assess the validity and efficacy of cardiac biomarkers such as serum troponin I and creatine phosphokinase MB versus the standard echocardiography for early diagnosis of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity. Methods: This was an analytical study in which 46 cancer patients who received anthracyclines-containing chemotherapy were investigated during 2007 to 2008.patients were selected based on obtaining a convenience sample using a consecutive sampling method. The serum levels of CKMB and cTnI were measured before treatment, after the third cycle of therapy, and following the completion of chemotherapy. Echocardiography was performed a year later for monitoring the cardiac function. Data were analyzed using chi square, Fisher’s Exact and ANOVA tests. Findings: Our results showed that among three diagnostic methods (serum cTnI, CKMB measurements, and echocardiography) to diagnose anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity, the echocardiography was found to be of higher value compared to other two laboratory tests measured (p