Breast cancer adjuvant therapy may increase long-term cardiovascular mortality through a multiple-hit mechanism, which could potentially be mitigated by lifestyle modifications like exercise therapy.
This review highlights the emerging risk of cardiovascular mortality from early breast cancer therapies and proposes lifestyle modifications, such as exercise, to mitigate these adverse effects.
Although recent advances in curative-intent therapies are beginning to produce significant survival gains in early breast cancer, these improvements may ultimately be attenuated by increased risk of long-term cardiovascular mortality. This paper reviews emerging evidence on the cardiovascular effects of breast cancer adjuvant therapy and proposes a new entity that we have labeled the "multiple-hit" hypothesis. The evidence that lifestyle modification, especially exercise therapy, may mitigate these adverse effects is also reviewed. These issues are of considerable practical importance for cardiovascular clinicians, as identification and intervention in those at high risk for cardiovascular complications may reduce a major cause of mortality in women with early breast cancer.
Jones et al. (Tue,) conducted a review in Early breast cancer and cardiovascular injury. Breast cancer adjuvant therapy and lifestyle modification was evaluated. Breast cancer adjuvant therapy may increase long-term cardiovascular mortality through a multiple-hit mechanism, which could potentially be mitigated by lifestyle modifications like exercise therapy.