We report the case of a patient bearing a sigmoid colon carcinoma, stage IV, who after 11 months of antiblastic therapy, having completed a dose of 81,000 mg of 5-FU and CCNU, suffered a myocardial infarct. We attribute this compication to 5-FU. Due to the fact that the coronary angiogram did not confirm the arteriosclerotic nature of the lesion, we suggest that it could have been caused by an endoarteritis, resulting from an immuno-allergic or toxic cumulative process.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
DentR.G., McCollI.: 5-Fluorouracil and angina.Lancet, 1: 347–348, 1975.
2.
JonesS.E., SalmonS.E.: Adjuvant Therapy of Cancer. II.New York. Grune & Stratton. pp. 207–573, 1979.
3.
LevillainR.: Lésion cardiaque observée en microscopie optique chez le rat wistar après ingestion de 5-fluorouracile.J. Med. Besancon., 8: 27–33, 1972.
4.
LissR.H., ChadwickM.: Correlation of 5-fluoro-uracil (NSC-19893) distribution in rodents with toxicity and chemotherapy in man.Cancer Chemother. Rep., 58: 777–786, 1974.
5.
LokichJ.J.: Cardiac complications of malignacy. In: Clinical Cancer Medicine: Treatment Tactics.LokichJ.J. (ed.), pp. 30–41, G.K. Hall Medical Publishers, Boston, 1980.
6.
ManenteP., BuchbergerR., ValmachinoG., FiorettiD., Lo GiudiceC., GasparoniP., ConteN.: Cardiotossicità da 5-fluorouracile: Descrizione di un caso clinico.Tumori, 66: 255–260, 1980.
