Drug might help breast cancer patients avoid heart damage
New research suggests this risk might be lowered in women with breast tumors if they take a heart drug as a preventive measure during their cancer care.
If confirmed in wider testing, this could improve care for thousands of breast cancer patients in the U.S. alone each year, plus other women and some men who also get these treatments for other types of cancer.
Special clinics are springing up in hospitals to take care of the growing number of cancer survivors with this problem.
Certain cancer drugs, such as Herceptin and doxorubicin, sold as Adriamycin and other brands, can hurt the heart's ability to pump, and lead to heart failure.
Led by Dr. Geeta Gulati of Akershus University Hospital in Lorenskog, Norway, it involved 120 women with early-stage breast cancer and tested two drugs long used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure — candesartan and metoprolol.
[...] some doctors already are considering this tactic, especially in women taking drugs known to harm the heart or who already have some risk factors for heart problems.