Value of cardiac troponin I measurement in prediction of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients

Objective: To evaluate the value of cardiac troponin I (CTnI) measurement in predicting anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity in patients with breast cancer.

Methods: This study was conducted among 186 breast cancer patients receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy. Serum cTnI concentrations before and after each cycle of the chemotherapy and the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) before and at the 2nd, 4th and 6th months of the treatment were recorded. According to serum cTnI concentration, the patients were divided into CTnI+ group (with serum CTnI concentration of no less than 0.1 ng/ml, n=60) and CTnI- (<0.1 ng/ml) group (n=126).

Results: No patients in this series experienced cardiac heart failure (CHF). The number of patients with a LVEF reduction by over 10% from the baseline was 16 (26.7%) in CTnI+ group, as compared to 7 (5.6%) in CTnI- group, showing a significant difference between the two groups (P<0.01).

Conclusions: CTnI can be a useful marker for early prediction of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity in patients with breast cancer.