Could miR34a be as a Potential Biomarker for Doxorubicin Induced Cardiotoxicity?

No biomarker is currently available for early detection of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity. The purpose of this study was to assess whether the plasma levels of microRNA34a (miR34a) could predict cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients who received anthracycline-based chemotherapy.Forty-four breast cancer patients who received anthracycline-based chemotherapy for the first time were included in the study. Before and after taking chemotherapy, patients were examined for cardiac troponin-I, miR34a, and precursor miR34a levels, and echocardiographic strain analyses were performed. There was a statistically significant increase in troponin-I, miR34a, and pre-miR34a levels after treatment with anthracyclines. The mean increase in miR34a and pre-miR34a was 2.5 and 2.3 fold, respectively. Echocardiographic analysis of patients showed a significant decrease in global longitudinal strain (GLS) measurements compared to the baseline after anthracycline treatment. An increase in the levels of miR34a/pre-miR34a was detected in patients who were estimated to have cardiac damage according to GLS change, but this increase was not statistically significant. After doxorubicin treatment, an increase in miR34a level in plasma was demonstrated without correlation with cTn-I and GLS. A higher miR34a/pre-miR34a ratio was detected in patients with myocardial deformation than in those without myocardial deformation, but it was not statistically significant.