Background: Anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity is a lethal yet prevalent complication of anthracycline based chemotherapy. Anthracycline treatment in certain circumstances, contribute to long-term cardiotoxicity. However very few studies authenticate the short-term use of this regimen is associated with cardiotoxic effects.

Aims: To determine occurrence of cardiotoxicity among breast cancer patients used anthracycline cyclophosphamide combination for short period of time (four cycles) as well as to evaluate the association of echocardiographic parameters of patients maintained on short course of anthracycline cyclophosphamide regimen with different factors including age, body mass index, cancer stage and dosing regimen.

Type of study: A cross- sectional prospective observational research.

Clinical setting: Clinical setting

Methodology: Formal consent was taken from (N=102) female cancer patients of age group 25 – 75 years of age visiting cancer hospital for the treatment of newly diagnosed breast cancer. All the data was recorded and analyzed using SPSS 20.0.  All the subjective data recorded as frequency and percentages whereas objective data represented as mean + S. E. M. All of the association was also analyzed using Pearson Chi-Square test, P value less than or equal to 0.05 was taken as significant. All cardiac parameters measured through echocardiogram were recorded before and after chemotherapy among patients receiving different doses.  The change in echocardiographic parameters were recorded as mean ±S.E.M. The comparison of age, BMI, cancer stage and dose regimen with respect to change in cardiac parameters was analyzed by using One way ANOVA, P value < 0.05 was taken as significant.

Results: Most of the overweight and obese patients received moderate to high dose. All the results of echocardiographic parameters including ejection fraction, early and late ventricular filling velocity, left ventricular end systolic diameter, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, estimated pulmonary arterial pressure, left atrium thickness and fractional shortening before and after chemotherapy were found to lie in the normal ranges as defined in standard literature. Results strongly suggest that anthracycline cyclophosphamide combination therapy given for four cycles posed no cardiotoxic effects on tested breast cancer patients.

Conclusion: We have concluded that short-term anthracycline cyclophosphamide chemotherapy in the duration of three months is safe and the reason for this safety that found to be cardiotoxic in previous studies might be due to safe prescribing practices after taking medical, social and cardiovascular disease history of patients.

Key Words – Anthracycline, Breast Cancer, Cardiac Parameters, Cyclophosphamide, Cardiotoxicity