title: Evaluation of doxorubicin cardiotoxicity in patients treated intermittently with beta-methyldigoxin.
abstract: Twenty-one patients with various advanced neoplasms were treated with 60 to 75 mg/m2 of doxorubicin every 3 to 4 weeks and monitored by ECG and systolic time intervals (PEP/LVET) with the aim to establish whether a pretreatment with beta-methyldigoxin, administered intermittently, could prevent doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity. It was found that until patients received digitalis pretreatment the PEP/LVET ratio did not change significantly from mean basal values even after the highest cumulative dosages of doxorubicin. However, after interruption of the therapy with both drugs, PEP/LVET increased reaching a value not significantly different from that observed in a comparable group of patients treated only with doxorubicin. Moreover, of 9 patients who reached the cumulative limiting dose, 2 developed congestive heart failure. These results question the possibility that digitalis administered according to an intermittent treatment scheme may prevent doxorubicin cardiomyopathy.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D004077:Digoxin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects*; D006334:Heart Function Tests; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008520:Medigoxin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D013599:Systole / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D004077:Digoxin; D004317:Doxorubicin; D008520:Medigoxin