Drug might help breast cancer patients avoid heart damage

Many cancer treatments have a dark side they can damage the heart. New research suggests this risk might be lowered in women with breast tumors if they take a heart drug as a preventive measure during their cancer care.

If confirmed in wider testing, this could improve care for thousands of breast cancer patients in the U.S. alone each year, plus other women and some men who also get these treatments for other types of cancer.

As it stands now, cancer patients are referred to cardiologists after certain cancer drugs or radiation treatments have already weakened their hearts. Special clinics are springing up in hospitals to take care of the growing number of cancer survivors with this problem.

“If you wait until the disease has occurred, it may be too late” to do much good, said Dr. Javid Moslehi, who heads one such specialty clinic at Vanderbilt University. “We in the cardiology community have to do a better job of preventing cardiac disease rather than jumping in” after damage has occurred.

He had no role in the new study, which was done in Norway. Results were discussed Wednesday at an American Heart Association conference in Orlando.

Radiation treatments can harm arteries, making them prone to harden and clog and cause a heart attack. It also can cause valve or rhythm troubles. Certain cancer drugs, such as Herceptin and doxorubicin, sold as Adriamycin and other brands, can hurt the heart’s ability to pump, and lead to heart failure.