Med News Today

Chemotherapy increases heart disease risk

WASHINGTON - Breast cancer survivors may face increased risk of heart disease — and doctors are debating if it's time to largely abandon a chemotherapy mainstay that is one reason for the problem.

Drugs called anthracyclines are a breast chemo staple despite a well-known risk: They weaken some women's hearts. What's new is research suggesting the drugs work no better than safer alternatives for most women.

It's a controversy born of success: Treatment advances are enabling more women than ever before to beat breast cancer, and some 2.4 million survivors are alive today. Now a move is under way to determine just how many women are vulnerable to heart disease because of their cancer battle, and how to help them.

posted by nattietodd @ 2:42 PM