Added value of serial troponin I and N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide for early detection of cardiotoxicity in breast cancer: A three-year retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND

Cardiotoxicity remains a major limitation in breast cancer treatment, especially with anthracyclines and radiotherapy. Early biomarkers may improve risk stratification.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study included breast cancer patients treated between 2020 and 2023 with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Troponin I (TPI) and N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were measured at baseline and at three, six, 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months. Cardiotoxicity was defined per European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines as a ≥10% drop in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) to <53% or >15% relative reduction in global longitudinal strain (GLS). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, logistic regression, and mixed-effects models assessed associations.

RESULTS

A total of 190 patients were included; 141 patients (74.2%) developed cardiotoxicity within 12 months. At six months, NT-proBNP (median: 212.6 pg/mL) and TPI (0.038 ng/mL) were significantly higher in the cardiotoxic group (p < 0.01). ROC area under the curve (AUC) for NT-proBNP at six months was 0.83 (95% CI: 0.77-0.89); for TPI, AUC = 0.79 (95% CI: 0.73-0.86). Multivariable regression showed both biomarkers remained independent predictors of cardiotoxicity after adjustment for GLS and cumulative anthracycline dose (NT-proBNP: OR 1.78 [95% CI 1.22-2.61], p = 0.003).

CONCLUSION

In this real-world breast cancer cohort, serial NT-proBNP and TPI monitoring, particularly at 3 and 6 months, provided meaningful early prognostic information for subsequent cardiotoxicity beyond baseline assessment alone. When integrated with echocardiographic surveillance, these biomarkers may support earlier identification of high-risk patients, more tailored cardio-oncology follow-up, and timely cardioprotective intervention, although prospective external validation is required before routine implementation.