Early detection of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity by radionuclide angiocardiography

For the early detection of myocardial damage associated with anthracycline therapy, electrocardiography, echocardiography, and radionuclide angiocardi ography were used to assess cardiac function in 37 patients receiving anthr acyclines (ie, adriamycin and daunorubicin at a total dose of 100-2,030 mg/ m(2)). None of the patients developed clinical congestive heart failure. Th ere were no significant changes of electrocardiographic and echocardiograph ic parameters after anthracycline administration. The left ventricular ejec tion fraction did not change significantly on radionuclide angiocardiograph y. However, the 1/3 peak filling rate (PFR) corrected by the end-diastolic count (EDC) (1/3 PFR/EDC) and the 1/3 filling fraction (1/3 FF), the indice s of early diastolic function, showed a significant decrease. These finding s suggest that the 1/3 PFR/EDC and 1/3 FF determined by radionuclide imagin g are useful for detecting silent myocardial damage induced by anthracyclin es.