Role of Myocardial Strain Imaging by Echocardiography for the Early Detection of Anthracyclines-Induced Cardiotoxicity

Abstract

Summary Objective To investigate the role of myocardial strain imaging by echocardiography is for detecting anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity early. Patients and methods Fifty patients had transthoracic echocardiogram before, during, and after taking anthracyclines. GE Vivid E9 Ultrasound System was used for echocardiographic examination and myocardial strain imaging. All patients were assessed three times: on the first visit, before starting anthracycline medication; on the second visit, three months later; and on the third visit, six months later. Results Cardiotoxicity occurred in 4 patients at the end of the research. There was a statistically significant association between percentage change in global longitudinal strain (GLS) and ejection fraction (EF) at 3 months p < 0.001 and 6 months p < 0.001. Change in the GLS at 3 months and 6 months had a sensitivity and specificity of 100%, 95.65%, and 100%, 89.13% respectively. Using receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) for change in GLS showed that Area Under a Curve (AUC) = 1.000, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value all equals 100%. Conclusion Strain echocardiographic examination using GLS is a good predictor for early detection of left ventricle dysfunction caused by anthracyclines chemotherapy.

Monitoring Values of Routine Echocardiography and Two-dimensional Speckle Tracking Imaging in Cardiotoxicity Caused by Treatment of Breast Carcinoma with Anthracyclines

“…The main monitoring and assessment indicators for cardiotoxicity are ventricular diastolic and systolic functions, especially left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) [9]. According to relevant research, routine ECG has some application values in the monitoring of cardiotoxicity after ANTH chemotherapy [10]. To further improve the monitoring and assessment techniques of ECG, two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (2D-STI) is proposed after the continuous exploration over the past years [11].…”