Heart health

 

Many treatments for cancer can affect heart function. Besides being critical for overall health and good quality of life, good heart function is often required for administering several drugs for treating cancer.

 

Men's Heart Health and Cancer
Anti-androgen therapy (suppressing production of testosterone from testicles) for patients with prostate cancer may be associated with higher risk of heart disease.

• This risk can be seen in men who are on short-term (3 months or more) or long term hormone suppression.
• Patients receiving anti-androgen therapy can develop weight gain, raise low-density cholesterol (LDL), as well as fatigue and muscle weakness that impact their ability to perform weight-bearing exercise.

 

Women's Heart Health and Cancer

• Aromatase inhibitor hormonal therapy drugs (Arimidex, Femara, Aromasin) can slightly raise low-density cholesterol (LDL) which may impact heart function.
• Tamoxifen can slightly raise the good cholesterol (high-density cholesterol- HDL) and decrease the bad cholesterol (low-density cholesterol) in post-menopausal women.
• In young women who become postmenopausal caused by chemotherapy low-density cholesterol can rise.
• Tamoxifen can decrease low-density cholesterol in this group of women as well.

Doxorubicin

• A common drug used for treating breast cancer called Doxorubicin is associated with heart failure.
• The risk of heart failure is low in women with normal heart function.
• A heart function study is often required prior to starting chemotherapy with this drug.

 

Herceptin

• Another drug commonly used for treating breast cancer, Herceptin is also known to affect heart function.
• The risk of heart failure is low in women with normal heart function.
• A heart function study is often required prior to starting chemotherapy with this drug.
• The good news is that many patients who develop changes in heart function because of Herceptin can be reversible.
• But careful monitoring is required during the treatment.

 

Some newer drugs for treating cancer can also cause heart failure.

• These drugs include Imatinib (Gleevec), Sunitinib (Sutent), Sorafenib (Nexavar), and others.
• Sutent and Nexavar as well as other drugs in this class can cause high blood pressure in many patients,  and drug treatment may be required to control it.
•  High blood pressure is also a common side effect of Bevacizumab (Avastin).

 

• Bowel function
• Eye changes
• Hearing loss
• Heart health
• Kidney and liver function
• Lung function
• Skin changes