Carvedilol with breast cancer treatment reduces echocardiographic findings

Patients with nonmetastatic HER-2 positive breast cancer and weak markers of HF treated with trastuzumab had reductions in systolic and diastolic echocardiographic findings when concomitantly treated with carvedilol, according to findings presented at EuroEcho-Imaging.

Maryam Moshkani Farahani, MD, associate professor at Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran, and colleagues analyzed data from 71 patients with nonmetastatic HER-2 positive breast cancer who were eligible for treatment with trastuzumab (Herceptin, Genentech). Patients were either assigned carvedilol with trastuzumab (n = 36) or trastuzumab alone (n = 35). Those who were assigned carvedilol received a standard dosage of 6.25 mg twice per day, which was then up-titrated to the maximally tolerated dose.

Left ventricular systolic and diastolic function were evaluated with speckle-tracking echocardiography at baseline and every 3 months.

During follow-up, mean LV ejection fraction did not differ between both groups (P = .61). Patients assigned trastuzumab alone had reductions in strain rate of LV systolic function (P = .004) and global longitudinal strain of LV (P = 0). Those assigned prophylactic carvedilol had preserved LV strain rate of early (P = 0) and late diastolic function (P = .005).

“Heart damage is a major side effect of the breast cancer drug trastuzumab and may force patients to stop treatment,” Moshkani Farahani said in a press release. “Our study suggests that patients who take the beta-blocker carvedilol together with trastuzumab have less heart damage than those who take trastuzumab alone.” – by Darlene Dobkowski

Reference:

Moshkani Farahani M, et al. Abstract P312. Presented at: EuroEcho-Imaging; Dec. 5-8, 2018; Milan.

Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.