Rehabilitation Medicine PhD candidate Edith Pituskin and researchers in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry are trying to reverse a devastating trend: cancer survivors developing cardiovascular disease, one of the top two killers in Canada.
Ian Paterson, an assistant professor of cardiology at the University of Alberta and Pituskin, a registered nurse, are starting what is called the MANTICORE clinical trials. Women with breast cancer will be put on heart medication before their cancer treatment.
"Our goal is to look at patients diagnosed with cancer and to detect heart disease and risk factors for heart disease sooner then they're being recognized and treat them aggressively," said Paterson. "We're hoping we can prevent heart disease not only during cancer treatment itself but after the cancer treatment is done.
All patients enrolled in this study must start on the heart disease medication with Paterson and Pituskin prior to treatment.
Paterson and Pituskin decided to start with breast cancer patients because it is the leading cancer in women and the leading cause of cancer deaths in women. Treatments have improved drastically over the years, in particular one pharmaceutical called Herceptin.
"The drug has been shown to really improve survival rates of some types of breast cancer," said Paterson. "Unfortunately it can also damage the heart in up to 20 per cent of women taking this drug.
"We're trying to detect signs of injury much more quickly using special blood tests and special imaging tests like an eco-cardiogram and MRI."
The pair will also try to detect if any of the women involved in the study have cardiac risk factors like high blood pressure and they'll try to treat those very aggressively.
MANTICORE looks to enrol 139 patients, so far 15 are involved in Edmonton and the study is now adding centres in Winnipeg and Toronto. The study is being funded by the Alberta Cancer Foundation and Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Cardio-oncology is an emerging field of medicine and Paterson and Pituskin are leading the way.
"We're one of the first and we could serve as a blue print for other programs," said Paterson, who also added they want to get a number of sites nationally on board with the trials. "Then we'll be able to track outcomes for these patients and develop a registry where we can track how people are doing and have these clinics make a difference."
Photo: Paterson and Pituskin with patients from their study. Photo supplied by Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
About the University of Alberta Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine
As the only free standing faculty of rehabilitation in Canada, the University of Alberta Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine balances its activities among learning, discovery and citizenship (including clinical practice). A research leader in musculoskeletal health, spinal cord injuries and common spinal disorders (back pain), the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine aims to improve the quality of life of citizens in our community. The three departments, Occupational Therapy (OT), Physical Therapy (PT) and Speech Pathology and Audiology (SPA) offer professional entry programs. The Faculty offers thesis-based MSc and PhD programs in Rehabilitation Science, attracting students from a variety of disciplines including OT, PT, SLP, psychology, physical education, medicine and engineering.