Can antioxidant vitamins avoid the cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin in treating breast cancer?

• Published in: PharmaNutrition Vol. 16; p. 100259
• Main Authors: Cavalcanti, Iago Dillion Lima, Soares, José Cleberson Santos, Medeiros, Sandrelli Meridiana de Fátima Ramos dos Santos, Cavalcanti, Isabella Macário Ferro, Lira Nogueira, Mariane Cajubá de Britto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.06.2021
• Subjects: Antioxidant vitamins; Breast cancer; Cardiotoxicity; Doxorubicin; Antioxidant vitamins; Breast cancer; Cardiotoxicity; Doxorubicin
• ISSN: 2213-4344; 2213-4344
• DOI: 10.1016/j.phanu.2021.100259

[Display omitted] Doxorubicin is a drug widely used for breast cancer treatment. It is known for its high cardiotoxicity, as a consequence of the free radicals production, which causes myocardial injury. As antioxidant vitamins act by inhibiting free radicals' production, could they be an alternative to inhibit doxorubicin's cardiotoxicity? This question instigated the main idea of this study, which was to identify the benefits of antioxidant vitamins, aiming to avoid doxorubicin cardiotoxicity in breast cancer treatment. A detailed literature review was conducted using the descriptors "Antioxidant Vitamins", "Doxorubicin", "Breast Cancer" and "Cardiotoxicity", through specialized databases. Some studies describe that diets rich in antioxidant vitamins exert beneficial effects to avoid doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity by neutralizing free radicals. Though, the association of doxorubicin with vitamin E can potentiate the effect of the drug and thereby increase its toxic effect. The interaction between antioxidant vitamins and doxorubicin offers benefits for the treatment of breast cancer, acting as cardioprotectors. However, it is necessary to highlight that depending on the type and the concentration, the vitamin supplements can potentialize the drug's action and worsen the clinical situation of patients.