Heart damage caused by chemotherapy worse in diabetes, says study

Researchers in the study investigate factors that could affect the likelihood of patients having heart damage after treatment with anthracyclines.

New Delhi: A recent survey has stated that heart damage caused by chemotherapy is worse in cancer patients who also have diabetes.

Researchers in the study investigate factors that could affect the likelihood of patients having heart damage after treatment with anthracyclines.

"Cardiotoxicity induced by chemotherapy with anthracyclines is being increasingly reported, mainly because a smaller proportion of patients now die from cancer," said Ana Catarina Gomes, from Hospital Garcia de Orta in Portugal.

"In the coming years this cardiotoxicity looks set to increase the burden of heart failure in cancer survivors," said Gomes.

"The good news is that cardiotoxicity can be reversible in the early stages before overt heart failure develops," she said.

"Surveillance programmes are hugely beneficial, particularly in the first year of treatment when up to 80 per cent of the systolic dysfunction develops," she added.