Protective effect of carvedilol in cardiomyopathy caused by anthracyclines in patients suffering from breast cancer and lymphoma.

Objective: Anthracyclines can damage the left ventricle, causing cardiomyopathy. This study evaluated the protective effect of carvedilol in cardiomyopathy caused by anthracyclines in patients suffering from breast cancer and lymphoma.

Methods: In this clinical trial, patients undergoing chemotherapy were randomly divided into three groups. The first group received placebo and the second and third groups received, respectively, 12.5mg and 25mg of apo-carvedilol 24 hours before starting the study. The patients underwent echocardiography and tissue Doppler to look for cardiomyopathy. After four months the efficacy of carvedilol was evaluated.

Results: Sixty-six patients were evaluated. No meaningful difference was observed among the groups in terms of mortality, age, gender, type of malignancy, chemotherapy regimen, and cumulative dose of doxorubicin and epirubicin. No statistically significant differences were observed between control and case groups considering the frequency of systolic cardiomyopathy (p=0.284) or the frequency of diastolic cardiomyopathy (p=0.284).

Conclusion: Carvedilol at a daily dose of 12.5mg has a protective effect against diastolic disorder and at a daily dose of 25mg has a protective effect against both systolic and diastolic disorders.