Key result
Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging facilitates the early detection of radiation-induced heart disease, including declines in left ventricular ejection fraction and myocardial fibrosis, in breast cancer patients following radiotherapy.
Why the study?
Radiotherapy is key in managing breast cancer but causes incidental cardiac exposure, prompting a systematic review of MRI evaluation of cardiac changes and sequences used after left breast radiotherapy.
Does cardiac magnetic resonance imaging detect radiation-induced heart disease in left breast cancer patients treated with radiotherapy?
Systematic Review
Does cardiac magnetic resonance imaging detect radiation-induced heart disease in left breast cancer patients treated with radiotherapy?
Cardiac MRI facilitates the early detection of radiation-induced heart disease in breast cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy, which may improve patient management and therapeutic outcomes.
Cardiac MRI supports early post-radiotherapy surveillance in breast cancer; extends evidence for detecting subclinical LVEF decline and fibrosis.
Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumours among women. Radiotherapy plays a key role in the management of breast cancer patients. However, radiotherapy results in incidental exposure of the heart. This work systematically reviewed articles on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluation of cardiac changes due to incidental cardiac irradiation during left breast radiotherapy and also to identify the MRI sequences used during evaluation. A systematic literature search was conducted in the following three selected databases: PubMed, ScienceDirect and Scopus using carefully defined search terms related to the left breast, MRI and cardiac irradiation. The quality of the included papers was determined using the critical appraisal skills programme for qualitative studies. The review had a total of six articles that were screened and graded for quality. Articles graded as high and moderate in terms of quality assessment were included and characterised based on the sample size, type of cancer treated, treatment methods employed, and period MRI was performed after radiotherapy. The review showed that breast cancer patients who had radiotherapy also developed radiation-induced heart disease (RIHD) few months post treatment. The review noted that breast cancer patients receiving radiation treatment are at high risk of RIHD which may affect their quality of life after completion of treatment. Cardiac MRI facilitates early detection of RIHD, hence better patient management.
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Nuruddeen et al. (2023) conducted a systematic review in Left breast cancer. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was evaluated on Cardiac changes and radiation-induced heart disease (RIHD). Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging facilitates the early detection of radiation-induced heart disease, including declines in left ventricular ejection fraction and myocardial fibrosis, in breast cancer patients following radiotherapy.
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