Objective To investigate the effect of left ventricular pressure-strain loop(PSL) in evaluating myocardial damage caused by anthracycline chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.
Methods Forty breast cancer patients undergoing surgeries were selected, and were given chemotherapy by epirubicin-based anthracycline anticancer drug. Another 40 healthy people who underwent physical examinations during the same period were included in control group. Conventional ultrasound, two-dimensional speckle tracing imaging and PSL test were performed for breast cancer patients before chemotherapy, 2-cycle and 4-cycle of chemotherapy. The parameters included left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF), left ventricular fraction shortening(FS), end-diastolic volume(EDV), end-shrinkage volume(ESV), left ventricular stroke volume(SV), left ventricular global longitudinal strain(GLS), left ventricular global work index(GWI), left ventricular global constructive work(GCW), left ventricular global work waste(GWW) and left ventricular global work efficiency(GWE) were obtained and myocardial damage was evaluated.
Results Before chemotherapy, GLS, GWI, GCW, GWW and GWE in the study group showed no statistically significant differences compared with the control group (P > 0.05). GWI, GCW, and GLS levels after 2-cycle and 4-cycle of chemotherapy were significantly lower compared with those before chemotherapy and the control group (P < 0.05), but GWW and GWE as well as conventional echocardiography parameters such as LVEF, FS, EDV and ESV showed no significant differences at the same time points compared with those before chemotherapy and the control group(P > 0.05). GLS was positively correlated with GWI and GCW(r=0.582, 0.433, P < 0.05), but had no correlation with GWW and GWE(r=0.168, 0.299, P > 0.05).
Conclusion PSL is valuable in evaluating early cardiotoxicity after chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.
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