AimsContemporary adjuvant treatment for early breast cancer is associated with improved survival but at the cost of increased risk of cardiotoxicity and cardiac dysfunction. We tested the hypothesis that concomitant therapy with the angiotensin receptor blocker candesartan or the β-blocker metoprolol will alleviate the decline in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) associated with adjuvant, anthracycline-containing regimens with or without trastuzumab and radiation.Methods and resultsIn a 2 × 2 factorial, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial, we assigned 130 adult women with early breast cancer and no serious co-morbidity to the angiotensin receptor blocker candesartan cilexetil, the β-blocker metoprolol succinate, or matching placebos in parallel with adjuvant anticancer therapy. The primary outcome measure was change in LVEF by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. A priori, a change of 5 percentage points was considered clinically important. There was no interaction between candesartan and metoprolol treatments (P = 0.530). The overall decline in LVEF was 2.6 (95% CI 1.5, 3.8) percentage points in the placebo group and 0.8 (95% CI −0.4, 1.9) in the candesartan group in the intention-to-treat analysis (P-value for between-group difference: 0.026). No effect of metoprolol on the overall decline in LVEF was observed.ConclusionIn patients treated for early breast cancer with adjuvant anthracycline-containing regimens with or without trastuzumab and radiation, concomitant treatment with candesartan provides protection against early decline in global left ventricular function.
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Background:
Adjuvant breast cancer therapy containing anthracyclines with or without anti–human epidermal growth factor receptor–2 antibodies and radiotherapy is associated with cancer treatment–related cardiac dysfunction. In the PRADA trial (Prevention of Cardiac Dysfunction During Adjuvant Breast Cancer Therapy), concomitant treatment with the angiotensin receptor blocker candesartan attenuated the reduction in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in women receiving treatment for breast cancer, whereas the β-blocker metoprolol attenuated the increase in cardiac troponins. This study aimed to assess the long-term effects of candesartan and metoprolol or their combination to prevent a reduction in cardiac function and myocardial injury.
Methods:
In this 2×2 factorial, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, single-center trial, patients with early breast cancer were assigned to concomitant treatment with candesartan cilexetil, metoprolol succinate, or matching placebos. Target doses were 32 and 100 mg, respectively. Study drugs were discontinued after adjuvant therapy. All 120 validly randomized patients were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. The primary outcome measure was change in LVEF assessed by cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging from baseline to extended follow-up. Secondary outcome measures included changes in left ventricular volumes, echocardiographic peak global longitudinal strain, and circulating cardiac troponin concentrations.
Results:
A small decline in LVEF but no significant between-group differences were observed from baseline to extended follow-up, at a median of 23 months (interquartile range, 21 to 28 months) after randomization (candesartan, 1.7% [95% CI, 0.5 to 2.8]; no candesartan, 1.8% [95% CI, 0.6 to 3.0]; metoprolol, 1.6% [95% CI, 0.4 to 2.7]; no metoprolol, 1.9% [95% CI, 0.7 to 3.0]). Candesartan treatment during adjuvant therapy was associated with a significant reduction in left ventricular end-diastolic volume compared with the noncandesartan group (
P
=0.021) and attenuated decline in global longitudinal strain (
P
=0.046) at 2 years. No between-group differences in change in cardiac troponin I and T concentrations were observed.
Conclusions:
Anthracycline-containing adjuvant therapy for early breast cancer was associated with a decline in LVEF during extended follow-up. Candesartan during adjuvant therapy did not prevent reduction in LVEF at 2 years, but was associated with modest reduction in left ventricular end-diastolic volume and preserved global longitudinal strain. These results suggest that a broadly administered cardioprotective approach may not be required in most patients with early breast cancer without preexisting cardiovascular disease.
Registration:
URL:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov
; Unique identifier: NCT01434134.
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