Onkológia 2/2009

Cardiotoxicity of drugs used in adjuvant therapy of breast cancer

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women, and incidence of this disease have been increasing in the last few years. The four therapeutic modalities used in the managment of breast cancer are surgical resection, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, endocrine therapy, targeted therapy, where chemotherapy (particularly with anthracyclines) is associated with the risk of cardiotoxicity. The basics of adjuvant chemotherapy are representative of combination chemotherapy, which include the most important regimes of anthracyclines and taxanes. When selecting the optimal regimen, it is necessary to take into account not only survival, but also a long-term quality of life after therapy.

Keywords: breast cancer, anthracyclines, taxanes, trastuzumab, cardiotoxicity