Diagnosis and management of cancer therapy-related myocarditis in a young female: A case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: The treatment of choice for Extra-osseous Ewing's sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumor (ES/PNET), a rare neoplasm, is the VAC/IE regimen. This regimen includes Doxorubicin, Vincristine, Cyclophosphamide, Ifosfamide, and Etoposide, all of which have cardiotoxic effects. Myocarditis, a potentially threatening side effect following cancer therapy, can be accurately managed and diagnosed. CASE PRESENTATION: In the current study, we report the case of a 19-year-old female with a mass on the abdominal wall, diagnosed with ES/PNET. She was treated with the VAC/IE regimen. A month after the last session of chemotherapy, she experienced dyspnea. Upon evaluation, a high level of troponin and a low left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were detected via transthoracic echocardiography. She was treated with anti-heart failure drugs, but the response was unsatisfactory. The possibility of Cancer therapy-related myocarditis was suspected, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) confirmed acute myocarditis. This patient exhibited a significant response to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), with her LVEF improving from 30-35% to 50% within three months. CONCLUSION: In this case, based on negative tests and the absence of viral signs and symptoms, Cancer therapy-related myocarditis is highly suspected as the cause of myocarditis. This case underscores the importance of accurately utilizing CMR as a non-invasive method for diagnosing myocarditis. It effectively highlights the identification of reversible myocarditis with appropriate treatment and the notable response to IVIG, suggesting its potential as a favorable treatment for myocarditis in younger patients.

Increased prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in Tehran - HAMRAH study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the current study is to assess the prevalence of different categories of thyroid dysfunction and their associated risk factors among the modern urban population of Tehran, the capital of Iran. METHODS: The present investigation is a sub-study of the HAMRAH study, a population-based prospective study designed to assess the prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and their changes through a 10-year follow-up. 2228 (61% female) adults aged between 30 and 75 years old and with no overt cardiovascular diseases were selected through a multistage cluster randomized sampling. Blood levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroxin (T4), and triiodothyronine (T3) were measured with the aim of assessing the prevalence of abnormal thyroid function status among the modern urban Iranian population, and in order to report the total prevalence of participants with clinical hypo- or hyperthyroidism, the number of individuals taking thyroid-related drugs were added to the ones with overt thyroid dysfunction. A subgroup analysis was also performed to determine the associated risk factors of thyroid dysfunction. RESULTS: The prevalence of thyroid dysfunction among the total population was 7% (95%CI: 5.9 - 8%) and 0.4% (95% CI: 0.1 - 0.6%) for subclinical and overt hypothyroidism, and 1.6% (95% CI: 1 - 2%) and 0.2% (95% CI: 0 - 0.3%) for subclinical and overt hyperthyroidism, respectively. Clinical thyroid dysfunction was detected in 10.3% of the study population (9.4% had clinical hypo- and 0.9% had clinical hyperthyroidism). In the subgroup analysis, thyroid dysfunction was significantly more prevalent among the female participants (P-value = 0.029). CONCLUSIONS: In the current study, the prevalence of different categories of abnormal thyroid status, and also the rate of clinical hypo- and hyperthyroidism was assessed using the data collected from the first phase of the HAMRAH Study. In this study, we detected a higher prevalence of clinical and subclinical hypothyroidism among the Iranian population compared to the previous studies.

Trastuzumab in patients with breast cancer and pre-existing left ventricular systolic dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Trastuzumab is one of the most effective treatments in HER-2 positive breast cancer patients. However, it is associated with development of cardiomyopathy/heart failure (HF) which is often a limiting side effect and associated with overall adverse outcomes. As a result, patients with pre-existing LV systolic dysfunction (LVSD) are often excluded from receiving anti-HER-2 therapy, which may lead to less effective cancer treatment and worse prognosis. OBJECTIVES: The current study aims to evaluate the safety of trastuzumab in patients with HER-2 positive breast cancer and pre-existing LVSD. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, 36 consecutive patients at a single center in Iran with HER-2 positive breast cancer with asymptomatic mild LVSD with LVEF 40-53% without heart failure symptoms and those who were closely followed in the Cardio-Oncology clinic before initiating the treatment and then every two cycles of trastuzumab were included. As per the program standard protocol they received a beta-blocker (carvedilol) and ACE-I (Lisinopril), up to the maximum tolerated dose, if there were no contraindications. Patients underwent routine echocardiography with global longitudinal strain (GLS) assessment every 3 months per guideline recommendations and were followed up 6 months after the end of treatment. Primary composite outcomes included myocardial infarction (MI), cardiac arrhythmia, heart failure(HF) symptoms and cardiovascular death. Secondary outcome was ≥ 10% reduction in LVEF or ≥ 15% reduction in GLS compared to baseline. If the LVEF decreased below 40%, the treatment was temporarily interrupted for one or two cycles, and spironolactone was added to the patient's treatment. If the LVEF improved ≥ 40%, trastuzumab was rechallenged. Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 24.0. Software. Patients' characteristics were reported using descriptive statistics, and its association with drop in LVEF or GLS was assessed using Pearson chi-square or Mann-Whitney U test. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Thirty-six patients were included in the study. Primary composite outcome was noted in 1(2.8%) patient. LVEF reduction of ≥ 10% occurred in 6(16.7%) of the patients, and a GLS reduction of more than 15% was detected in 4 (11.1%) of the patients. There was a significant association between a ≥ 10% reduction in LVEF and baseline systolic blood pressure (P-value: 0.04). LVEF reduction below 40% was observed in 3 (8.3%) patients, where trastuzumab was interrupted. All of these three patients had obesity (Median BMI 34.11, IQR 9.12) and uncontrolled HTN, and one of them had symptoms of heart failure (NYHA class II), for whom the trastuzumab treatment was discontinued. Among two patients, after the temporary interruption of trastuzumab, and addition of spironolactone, LVEF improved to above 40%, and the treatment was restarted with close cardiac monitoring; therefore, they could complete the entire one-year treatment period. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with trastuzumab seems to be safe in patients with pre-existing LVSD (LVEF = 40-53%). Such high-risk patients should be strictly monitored and cardiovascular risk factors, such as HTN should be regulated.

Prevalence and associated factors of chronic venous disease among the modern Iranian urban population.

OBJECTIVES: Chronic venous disease (CVD) of the lower extremities is one of the common venous diseases in different populations, with a wide range of clinical manifestations and undetermined exact prevalence owing to different population characteristics and measurement methods. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of CVD among the modern Iranian urban population and determine its associated risk factors. METHODS: The Heart Assessment and Monitoring in Rajaie Hospital study, a longitudinal population-based cohort, aims to investigate the baseline prevalence and the 10-year incidence of cardiovascular diseases and associated risk factors in the adult population aged 30 to 75 years with no overt cardiovascular diseases in Tehran. Two instructed interventional cardiologists performed CVD evaluation using the Clinical-Etiology-Anatomy-Pathophysiology classification. CVD was graded as C1 to C6, and chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) as C3 to C6. A multivariable regression model was used to analyze the association between CVD and prespecified covariates of age, sex, body mass index (≥30 kg/m2), smoking, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, physical activity, dyslipidemia, and delivery method. RESULTS: CVD prevalence among 1176 participants was 36.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 33.8-39.3) and was higher in women than men (44.2% vs 23.5%). CVI prevalence was only 0.7% (95% CI, 0.3-1.3). Multivariable analysis showed that advanced age (odds ratio [OR], 1.06; 95% CI, 1.04-1.08), female sex (OR, 2.98; 95% CI, 2.14-4.14), and body mass index of ≥30 (OR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.03-1.81) were independently associated with CVD. Physical activity (OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.58-1.02) was nearly protective, whereas other factors, including traditional cardiovascular risk factors, had no meaningful association with CVD. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings showed that CVD was prevalent in the modern Iranian urban population. However, considering the very low prevalence of the higher stages of the disease, the benefit of mass screening is debatable, and better risk discriminators should be investigated.