Evaluation of long term cardiotoxicity after epirubicin containing adjuvant chemotherapy and locoregional radiotherapy for breast cancer using various detection techniques.

Breast cancer patients who present with only locoregional lymphatic metastases have good life expectancy after treatment with surgery and adjuvant anthracyclinecontaining chemotherapy. Anthracyclines, however, can induce cardiomyopathy, and this may become clinically manifest as chronic heart failure many years after exposure. As the occurrence of this side effect is dependent on the cumulative dose given, breast cancer patients with a favourable prognosis are treated with rather low doses of anthracyclines in order to prevent severe cardiac damage.