ABSTRACT
We investigated the incidence of cardiovascular symptoms in patients treated with fluorouracil and cisplatin (FP) combination chemotherapy. Between April 2010 and March 2011, 61 patients were treated with FP therapy at the Department of Gastroenterology, Niigata Prefectural Cancer Center Hospital. Within 1 week of treatment and within the first or second course of therapy, six patients developed chest pain. To investigate the risk factors for cardiotoxicity following FP therapy, patients were divided into cardiotoxicity incidence and non-incidence groups. The prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease was not significantly different between the two groups. Furthermore, serum sodium and potassium levels were not altered following FP therapy. Therefore, no definitive risk factors for cardiotoxicity were identified. These results suggest that while FP chemotherapy-induced nausea, vomiting, and renal damage are serious adverse effects, further attention should also be paid to the potential cardiotoxic effects of FP therapy.
