Does 5-fluorouracil induce cardiotoxicity in patients treated for solid tumors?
5-Fluorouracil can cause severe but potentially reversible cardiotoxicity, including cardiomyopathy, emphasizing the critical need for early recognition and prompt discontinuation of the drug.
BACKGROUND: 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is an antimetabolite chemotherapy used for a variety of solid tumors. It has the potential to cause a wide spectrum of cardiotoxicity, ranging from asymptomatic electrocardiographic changes to cardiomyopathy and subsequent cardiac failure. Main body of the abstract: We present two descriptive cases of new-onset severe cardiomyopathy induced by 5-FU followed by a review of the literature. CONCLUSION: Our case series emphasizes the importance of early recognition of this rare complication and prompt cessation of 5-FU, as cardiac dysfunction in this context is potentially reversible.
Yuan et al. (Fri,) studied this question.