[Evaluation of acute cardiotoxicity from the combination cyclophosphamide-mitoxantrone-5-fluorouracil (CMF) with...

By making use of a twenty-four hour Holter monitoring, it as been possible to compute the acute cardiotoxicity of the cyclophosphamide + mitoxantrone + 5-fluorouracil (CNF) association in twenty oncologic patients (pts) each of whom being immune from organic cardiopathy emerging clinically and at their first cycle of chemotherapy. The following parameters have been computed: meaningful changes in the heart frequency; premature atrial and ventricular depolarizations, both as a first appearance and as a clear growth in the number; the ST dislocation entity; malignant ventricular arrhythmias. The administration of CNF at the doses of: 600 mg/m2 of cyclophosphamide, 12 mg/m2 of mitoxantrone and 600 mg/m2 of 5-fluorouracil , has caused a meaningful increase in the heart frequency on 6 pts (30%), an increase of premature atrial depolarization on 4 pts (20%) with an appearance ex novo on 2 pts (10%), an increase of premature ventricular depolarization, without any passing to superior Lown classes, on 2 pts (10%) with an appearance ex novo on 3 pts (15%). Although the results in the study point out a frequency percentage of simple hyperkinetic arrhythmias equal to the 55%, the lack of more serious hyperkinetic arrhythmias and of intense disorders of ventricular repolarization testified to a synergic effect as a determining factor on the acute cardiotoxicity of the previously discussed association, in our opinion.