Cardiotoxicity of Cancer Therapy: Mechanisms and Predictors

The overall study objectives are:

1. To determine the longitudinal relationships between circulating markers, such as Neuregulin (NRG)-1Beta levels and incident risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients exposed to anthracycline, trastuzumab, or a combination of the two agents. We hypothesize that a sustained increase in NRG-1Beta, indicative of enhanced cardiac stress with exposure to chemotherapeutic agents, is predictive of an increased risk of cardiac dysfunction and heart failure.
2. To study the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)/haplotype variation in pathways of interest, such as the Neuregulin/Epidermal Growth Factor (ErbB) signaling pathway, on incident risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes. We hypothesize that there will be SNP/haplotypes variations that are associated with incident cardiovascular outcomes.
3. To determine the longitudinal relationships between novel echocardiographic measures, such as strain and strain rate and incident cardiac dysfunction in patients exposed to anthracycline, trastuzumab, or a combination of the two agents. We hypothesize that early declines in strain and strain rate are predictive of an increased risk of future cardiac dysfunction and heart failure.
4. To explore the changes in biomarkers such as NRG-1Beta levels and the relationships with novel echocardiographic measures of cardiac function.
5. To create a biobank as a future resource for additional questions in novel biomarkers and genetics.
6. To determine the long-term effects of cancer therapy cardiotoxicity by following patients yearly for 5 years after their exposure to cancer therapy, with the option to extend up to an additional 5 years.