The Cardiotoxicology of Anthracycline Chemotherapeutics: TRANSLATING MOLECULAR MECHANISM INTO PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE

Trastuzumab (Herceptin) exacerbates chemotherapy-associated cardiotoxicity. Trastuzumab has antitumor activity against HER2-positive human breast tumor cells in laboratory models and is effective against human HER2-overexpressing breast cancers. In the clinical trials demonstrating the clinical benefit of trastuzumab in patients with metastatic breast cancer, there were an unexpectedly high number of patients who developed cardiac contractile dysfunction and clinically apparent heart failure. [From (28).]