EDA CALİSKAN YİLDİRİM, EMRE GEDİK, GURCAN GUNAYDİN, CEM COTELİ, NECLA OZER, AYSEGUL UNER, DENİZ YUCEL, ALEV TURKER
Eurasian Journal of Medical Investigation - 2024;8(3):164-172
Objectives: Currently, there are no biomarkers for early detection of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity. This study explores whether plasma levels of microRNA34a (miR34a) could serve as predictive markers for cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients undergoing anthracycline-based chemotherapy. Methods: Forty-four breast cancer patients receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy for the first time were en rolled. Plasma samples were collected before and after chemotherapy to assess cardiac troponin-I (cTn-I), miR34a, pre miR34a levels, and echocardiographic strain. Results: We observed statistically significant increases in cTn-I, miR34a, and pre-miR34a levels post-treatment, with miR34a and pre-miR34a increasing by 2.5-fold and 2.3-fold, respectively. Echocardiographic analysis showed signifi cant reductions in global longitudinal strain (GLS) from baseline after anthracycline treatment. Increases in plasma miR34a levels post-doxorubicin did not correlate with changes in cTn-I or GLS. Furthermore, while a higher miR34a/ pre-miR34a ratio was noted in patients with myocardial deformation compared to those without, this did not reach statistical significance. Conclusion: Despite increases in miR34a levels following anthracycline-based chemotherapy, there is no clear statisti cal correlation with early myocardial damage. This suggests that miR34a is not a reliable biomarker for anthracycline induced cardiotoxicity, underscoring the need for further research to identify more definitive predictive markers for cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients.
