Impact of exercise training on cardiotoxicity and cardiac health outcomes in women with breast cancer anthracycline chemotherapy: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Anthracyclines are chemotherapeutic agents frequently used in breast cancer (BC) treatment. Although it improves disease-free and overall survival, the use of anthracyclines is associated with a cumulative risk of cardiac toxicity. Preventive strategies to optimize cardiac health are needed and exercise is proposed as a potential non-pharmacological approach for counteracting anthracycline-related cardiotoxicity (ARC). Most of the data on the effects of exercise to reduce ACT are from animal studies, with only a few studies in a limited number of patients indicating beneficial effects. To better understand the effectiveness of exercise in the mitigation of ARC, clinical, real-world trials claim require a larger sample size and more accurate and valuable clinical biomarkers. In this study, we intend to include a large sample and investigate cardiac function through serial measures of biomarkers and imaging techniques.

Keywords

Breast cancer Cardiotoxicity Cardiac healthcare Supervised exercise Supportive cancer care

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.6/8648

Citation

Antunes P., Esteves D., Nunes C., Sampaio F., Ascensão A., Vilela A., Teixeira M., Amarelo L. A, Joaquim A. (2019) Impact of physical exercise on cardiotoxicity and cardiac health outcomes in women with breast cancer undergoing anthracycline-containing chemotherapy: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials 20(1):433. doi: 10.1186/s13063-019-3499-9.