title: [Clinical observation of electrocardiographic changes in response to taxotere combined with adriamycin treatment for breast cancer].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the effects of taxotere and adriamycin based chemotherapy on the electrocardiogram (ECG) of patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Chemotherapy combining taxotere (75 mg/m(2)) and adriamycin (5 mg/m(2)) once every 3 weeks was performed in 250 patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Electrocardiograph was recorded before and after each treatment course for a total of 10 courses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After the completion of the 10 treatment courses, 8 (3.2%) patients had accelerated heart rate, 12 presented low voltage of QRS complex in the limb leads, and Q-T interval extension, ST segment depression, T-wave flattening, T-wave inversion occurred in 28, 18, 29, and 12 patients, respectively. The rest patients had no ECG changes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Taxotere and adriamycin as antitumor chemotherapeutic drugs may cause toxicity in the heart, and result in pericardial effusion, myocardial injury, chronic myocardial ischemia or hypoxia that may lead to abnormal changes in QRS complex and ST-T segment in ECG.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrocardiogram, Guangzhou Tumor Hospital, Guangzhou 510095, China.
authors.forename: Zou-q
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Huo-xia
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jia-li
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Song-guo
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Wan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000077143:Docetaxel; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D043823:Taxoids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D043823:Taxoids; D000077143:Docetaxel; D004317:Doxorubicin