Ventricular Late Potentials in the Assessment of Mitoxantrone Cardiotoxicity

Abstract

Sixteen female patients underwent signal-averaged electrocardiography and radionuclide angiography for the assessment of the resting left ventricular ejection fraction in the course of chemotherapy with mitoxantrone (MTX) for advanced breast cancer. Nine patients had received prior cardiotoxic treatments. Our findings indicate that patients treated with MTX may develop late potentials.

Bradycardia due to mitoxantrone exacerbated by previous anthracycline therapy

“…MIT causes cardiotoxicity by a different mechanism from those of doxorubicin and epirubicin, which are probably mediated by oxygen-free radicals [3]. One report indicated that patients treated with MIT may develop late potentials [5]. Another revealed that MIT induced a gradual, competitive P-adrenergic blocking effect against the positive chronotropic action of isoproterenol [6].…”