Cardioprotective Effects of Nebivolol Versus Placebo in Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy With Anthracyclines (CONTROL Trial)

During the last decades, major efforts have been made in the field of cancer therapy to improve prognosis and quality of life of patients treated with any sort of chemotherapy. Cardiotoxicity represents one of the most relevant adverse effects of chemotherapy, primarily in patients treated with anthracyclines. The potential protective role of cardiovascular medications in the prevention of cardiotoxicity associated with anthracyclines chemotherapy is still a matter of debate since evidence in this field are scarce and largely inconclusive. Indeed, prior studies were often limited by a non-blinded design or an echocardiography-based assessment of left ventricular ejection fraction (with a relevant inter and intra-operator variability). The primary objective of the trial is to evaluate the cardioprotective effects of the betablocker nebivolol in an individually randomized, parallel, placebo-controlled, double-blinded (patient, treating physician, investigator, outcomes assessor, statistician), superiority trial in patients with a solid tumor (i.e., breast cancer) or a hematologic malignancy (i.e., diffuse large B cell lymphoma) who have a normal cardiac function as assessed by echocardiography and will receive anthracyclines as part of their first-line chemotherapy program. Indeed, recent evidence suggests that anthracycline cardiotoxicity seems mainly due to an anthracycline-induced dysregulation of mitochondrial activity and metabolism in cardiomyocytes. Nebivolol has a distinctive profile among beta-blockers, with the unique power of increasing the nitric oxide bioavailability. Nebivolol-induced nitric oxide release has shown favourable effects in terms of antioxidant activity, cardiac neo-angiogenesis, mitochondrial and endothelial protection. On this basis, the individually randomized, parallel, placebo-controlled, double-blinded (patient, treating physician, investigator, outcomes assessor, statistician), superiority CONTROL trial will assess the cardioprotective effects of a commonly used betablocker (nebivolol) in patients with baseline normal left ventricular systolic function receiving anthracycline chemotherapy as first-line chemotherapy for breast cancer or diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The assessment of left ventricular ejection fraction and related endpoints will be performed with cardiac magnetic resonance.