Genotoxic and Cytotoxic Damage by Cyclophosphamide and Adriamycin as a Response to Treatment in Breast Cancer Patients: Pilot Study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the genotoxicity induced by cyclophosphamide-adriamycin treatment in breast cancer patients through the frequencies of Sister Chromatid Exchange (SCE), Replication Index (RI), Mitotic Index (MI) and Cell Proliferation Index (CPI) and to study the possible association between biomarkers of genotoxicity and the early response to treatment. The frequencies were obtained before and immediately after therapy from 17 patients with breast cancer (p < 0.001). Response to treatment was assessed after two years resulting in 12 patients in a state of remission. MI and CPI had high values after treatment in women with active cancers compared to those in a state of remission, however there were not significant differences. Conclusions: It is possible that MI y CPI biomarkers can serve as indicators for early assessment of treatment with cyclophosphamide-adriamycin. It should be noted that these are preliminary results and further study is necessary.