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Query: UMLS:C0018801 (heart failure)
 72,216 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Trastuzumab, a monoclonal antibody against the HER2 receptor, was recently approved for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. However, 28% of patients receiving both an anthracycline and trastuzumab developed heart failure. Although HER2 overexpression has been associated with the development of cancer, HER2 receptors seem to be cardioprotective because they mediate the activation of important cardiac survival pathways. Because the morbidity and mortality of heart failure surpasses that of many cancers, prudent medical practice mandates that physicians learn more about the mechanisms of trastuzumab-induced cardiotoxicity and develop algorithms for assessing risk/benefit ratios before extending the use of this agent to patients with less invasive forms of breast cancer.
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PMID:Trastuzumab in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer : anticancer therapy versus cardiotoxicity. 1089 87

Recent clinical studies have documented the efficacy of trastuzumab (Herceptin; Genentech, Inc, South San Francisco, CA) as a new biologically targeted therapy for erbB-2 receptor-positive forms of breast cancer. During the course of a large-scale clinical trial, a subset of patients reported the onset of symptoms and signs of cardiac failure that appeared to be aggravated by concomitant exposure to anthracyclines. The mechanisms responsible for this cardiac toxicity are unclear. However, new insights into the pathways that lead to other forms of heart failure have identified a pivotal role for myocyte survival pathways in preventing the onset of cardiomyopathy and associated heart failure in genetically engineered animal models of the disease. This mini-review highlights these recent findings and suggests the possibility that the loss of erbB-2 receptor-dependent myocyte survival pathways may create a susceptibility for the onset of heart failure in response to the cardiotoxicity of anthracycline treatment. The possibility exists that the divergent susceptibility for the onset of cardiotoxicity among patients who have received trastuzumab might ultimately reflect an inherent genetic susceptibility to the diverse mechanisms that initiate, promote, and suppress the complex pathways to heart failure.
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PMID:Myocyte survival pathways and cardiomyopathy: implications for trastuzumab cardiotoxicity. 1123 34

Approximately 25,000 patients have been treated to date with the humanized anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody, Herceptin. This therapy has proved effective and well tolerated in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer; adverse events were generally infusion-related fever and chills of mild-to-moderate severity. Cardiotoxicity and infusion-related reactions emerged as the two main safety concerns with the use of Herceptin. Retrospective analysis revealed a higher incidence of heart failure when Herceptin was combined with anthracyclines than that expected with anthracyclines alone. Age, anthracycline exposure and cardiac risk factors were found to be predictors of cardiac adverse events. Patients experiencing cardiac dysfunction responded well to standard cardiac medication and the majority improved. Cardiac function should be monitored regularly and Herceptin should be discontinued if significant heart failure develops unless the benefits for an individual patient outweigh the risks. Of 25,000 patients, 74 (0.3%) were reported to have experienced a serious infusion-related reaction. The majority occurred during or shortly after the first infusion and were characterized by respiratory symptoms. Most patients were successfully treated; a total of 33 patients continued Herceptin therapy with no recurrence of infusion reactions. Although the benefit to risk ratio of Herceptin remains favorable, physicians must be vigilant and aggressive in managing cardiotoxicity and infusion-related reactions.
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PMID:Retrospective analysis of the safety of Herceptin immunotherapy in metastatic breast cancer. 1169 89

Amplification of the gene encoding the ErbB2 (Her2/neu) receptor tyrosine kinase is critical for the progression of several forms of breast cancer. In a large-scale clinical trial, treatment with Herceptin (trastuzumab), a humanized blocking antibody against ErbB2, led to marked improvement in survival. However, cardiomyopathy was uncovered as a mitigating side effect, thereby suggesting an important role for ErbB2 signaling as a modifier of human heart failure. To investigate the physiological role of ErbB2 signaling in the adult heart, we generated mice with a ventricular-restricted deletion of Erbb2. These ErbB2-deficient conditional mutant mice were viable and displayed no overt phenotype. However, physiological analysis revealed the onset of multiple independent parameters of dilated cardiomyopathy, including chamber dilation, wall thinning and decreased contractility. Additionally, cardiomyocytes isolated from these conditional mutants were more susceptible to anthracycline toxicity. ErbB2 signaling in cardiomyocytes is therefore essential for the prevention of dilated cardiomyopathy.
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PMID:ErbB2 is essential in the prevention of dilated cardiomyopathy. 1198 89

Trastuzumab, a monoclonal antibody that is selective for cells that overexpress the erbB2 receptor protein tyrosine kinase, is a promising targeted therapy for the treatment of breast cancer. Surprisingly, toxic cardiovascular side effects were discovered in late-phase clinical trials, and these effects were most prominent when trastuzumab was combined with anthracycline chemotherapy. We review recent data focusing on how erbB2 monoclonal antibodies could exert a cardiotoxic effect through unique cardiomyocyte cell surface and intracellular structural features, and how an individual's cardiac susceptibility to erbB2 monoclonal antibodies may be dictated by the ability of erbB2 monoclonal antibodies to bind cardiomyocytes. In addition, we discuss ways that anthracyclines may also affect erbB2/erbB4/neuregulin receptor signaling, explaining the apparent synergistic effect. Further investigation of the role of normal and aberrant erbB2 signaling in the development of cardiac dysfunction could lead to an improved understanding of the pathophysiology of cardiac dysfunction and may lead to novel therapies for the treatment of heart failure, regardless of etiology. Understanding the nature and specificity of trastuzumab's cardiotoxic effects is important in better defining clinical criteria for inclusion and exclusion of patients who can safely receive trastuzumab for the treatment of breast cancer, or possibly other malignancies.
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PMID:Trastuzumab cardiotoxicity: Speculations regarding pathophysiology and targets for further study. 1213 94

The proto-oncogene ErbB2 (also known as c-neu or HER2 in humans) encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase that is frequently overexpressed in human tumors. It is the target of a novel and effective antibody-based therapy for malignant mammary tumors (trastuzumab/Herceptin). Biochemical and genetic experiments have shown that ErbB2 acts as a coreceptor for other members of the ErbB family of receptor tyrosine kinases. In particular, signals are transduced by ErbB2/ErbB4, ErbB2/ErbB3, and ErbB2/EGF receptor heteromers. ErbB2/4 and ErbB2/ErbB3 heteromers transmit neuregulin-1 signals in the developing and adult heart, and in the peripheral nervous system, respectively. Of particular medical relevance are recent findings that relied on tissue-specific mutation of ErbB2 in cardiomyocytes, which revealed an essential function of ErbB2 in normal heart physiology and demonstrated that loss of cardiac ErbB2 can cause dilated cardiomyopathy in adult mice. Thus, ErbB2 is important not only in development, but also for the correct functioning of the differentiated myocardium. The conditional ErbB2 mutant mice provide a model for the principal side effects--cardiomyopathy and heart failure--that can be observed in patients undergoing chemotherapy with Trastuzumab.
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PMID:ErbB2 pathways in heart and neural diseases. 1258 44

Anticancer chemotherapy continues to advance. One of the new therapeutic orientations is the targeting of receptors which regulate the tumoral activity of the malignant cells. Trastuzumab is the prototype of these new chemotherapeutic agents. It is a monoclonal antibody directed against a tyrosine kinase receptor related to the EGF (Epidermal Growth Factor): the HER receptor. This receptor is also present in myocardial cells. Blockade of this myocardial receptor could cause severe cardiotoxicity about which some information is available but which continues to pose many problems. This data should be known as cardiologists will be consulted before the prescription of Trastuzumab and could also be confronted by these cardiotoxic effects. Precise physiopathological explanations have already been published from experimental studies which show the deleterious effects of the suppression of certain HER receptors on the heart. These studies not only explain all the clinical signs of Trastuzumab's cardiotoxicity but also suggest ways of preventing and treating some of these cases of cardiac failure.
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PMID:[Cardiotoxicity associated with trastuzumab (herceptin). An undesired effect leads towards a model of cardiac insufficiency]. 1518 77

Trastuzumab is a humanised monoclonal antibody against the extracellular domain of HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor-2) that is overexpressed in about 25% of human breast cancers. It has shown clinical benefit in HER2-positive breast cancer cases when used alone or in combination with chemotherapy. Trastuzumab increases the response rate to chemotherapy and prolongs survival when used in combination with taxanes. In this article, we review the clinical trials where trastuzumab has been administered together with docetaxel, and we present the results of the trastuzumab expanded access programme (EAP) in the UK. Combination of trastuzumab with docetaxel results in similar response rates and time-to-progression with the trastuzumab/paclitaxel combinations. The toxicity of the combination and the risk of heart failure are low. The clinical data for the docetaxel/trastuzumab combination indicate a favourable profile from both the efficacy and the safety point of view and confirm the feasibility and safety of trastuzumab administration both as monotherapy and in combination with docetaxel.
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PMID:Safety and efficacy of the combination of trastuzumab with docetaxel for HER2-positive women with advanced breast cancer. A review of the existing clinical trials and results of the expanded access programme in the UK. 1531 58

During chemotherapy with anthracyclines, attenuated neuregulin signaling by the erbB2 receptor inactivating antibody Trastuzumab enhances the heart failure risk. We compared the effects of attenuated neuregulin/erbB signaling and of daunorubicin on splicing of the Bcl-x gene and on mitochondrial activation of apoptosis in cardiomyocytes. Attenuating erbB signals in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes by the erbB2 antagonist tyrphostin AG825, by the erbB1/4 antagonist AG1478 or by antisense-induced lowering of erbB2 receptors resulted in an augmented Bcl-xS/Bcl-xL ratio, mitochondrial release of cytochrome c, activation of caspase 9 and caspase 3, and nucleosome-sized DNA fragmentation. A similar DNA fragmentation and caspase 3 activation was induced by TNF-alpha, but without Bcl-xS/Bcl-xL increase, cytochrome c release or caspase 9 activation. A BH4-domain containing HIV TAT fusion protein added to cardiomyocytes under attenuated erbB signaling lowered the enhanced Bcl-xS/Bcl-xL ratio, the cytochrome c release, the caspase 3 activation and the DNA fragmentation, while apoptosis was not modified by the fusion protein in TNF-alpha treated cardiomyocytes. Enhancement of Bcl-xS/Bcl-xL by reducing Bcl-xL via siRNA transfection mimicked the mitochondrial apoptotic activation due to erbB signal attenuation. Daunorubicin also caused Bcl-xS/Bcl-xL enhancement and mitochondrial apoptotic activation in cultured cardiomyocytes; this was attenuated by BH4-fusion protein or by neuregulin-1 and augmented by siRNA-mediated Bcl-xL lowering. We conclude that activation of mitochondrial apoptosis due to altered Bcl-x splicing contributes as a common mechanism of anthracyclines and erbB signal attenuation to the enhanced heart failure risk under this combination.
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PMID:Apoptosis-modulating interaction of the neuregulin/erbB pathway with anthracyclines in regulating Bcl-xS and Bcl-xL in cardiomyocytes. 1573 8

(1) There is no consensus on the optimal chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer. Patients who have never previously received chemotherapy are generally given an anthracycline-based combination of cytotoxic agents. Options for patients who have already received an anthracycline include a taxane such as paclitaxel or docetaxel. The median survival time with these treatments is only about 2 to 2.5 years. (2) Trastuzumab is a monoclonal antibody directed against HER-2, a protein overexpressed by certain tumours, including about 25% of breast tumours. In 2000, the approved indications included first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer in combination with paclitaxel. One clinical trial had shown, albeit with a low level of evidence, a median increase in survival of about 4 to 5 months. Trastuzumab is now approved for first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer, in combination with docetaxel. (3) Evaluation data include the results of an open-label trial comparing docetaxel + trastuzumab with docetaxel monotherapy in 186 patients. The median survival time was significantly longer with the combination (31.2 versus 22.7 months). There are no relevant comparisons with other widely used cytotoxic drugs. Indirect comparison suggests that survival is similar with docetaxel + trastuzumab and paclitaxel + trastuzumab. (4) Data on the trastuzumab-docetaxel combination confirm the known adverse effects of trastuzumab, which include heart failure and diarrhea. Trastuzumab increases the frequency of docetaxel-induced neutropenia, which carries a risk of infections. (5) In summary, the results of clinical trials show that median survival time is increased by a few months when trastuzumab is added to a cytotoxic drug. However, the best cytotoxic agent is not known, and adverse effects are poorly documented. (6) In practice, trastuzumab has only been shown to benefit a minority of women with breast cancer, namely those whose tumours overexpress HER-2. Trastuzumab therapy is an option for metastatic breast cancer treatment, provided patients are enrolled in studies designed to answer the many outstanding questions.
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PMID:Trastuzumab: new indication. Metastatic breast cancer, in combination with docetaxel: promising, but more evaluation is needed. 1654 94


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