Heart check: new stress test may detect chemo damage sooner
NCT ID NCT03505736
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This pilot study tested whether a stress test combined with a heart MRI can detect early signs of heart damage in premenopausal women treated for breast cancer. The study involved 25 women who had already received treatments like chemotherapy or hormone therapy. Researchers used drugs to stress the heart and then took images to measure blood flow and scarring, aiming to find damage before symptoms appear.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Adenosine, Regadenoson, and Stress Management Therapy
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could lead to a way to catch heart damage early in breast cancer patients, helping doctors adjust treatments to protect the heart.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small pilot study with only 25 participants, so results may not apply to all patients. It is designed to see if the test works, not to prove it prevents heart problems.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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25 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jun 2018
- Finished
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Mar 2020
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
Adults with stage I-III breast cancer
- Ages
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Up to 55 years
- Sex
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Female participants only
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Women who were premenopausal at the time of breast cancer diagnosis; (premenopausal is defined as per National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) criteria * Breast cancer treatment is within three years of initiating anti-estrogen therapy and includes medically or surgically induced menopause (HR-positive tumor) or three years of completing chemotherapy (HR-negative tumor) * Diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer OR with metastatic breast cancer and receiving ovarian suppression function and aromatase inhibitors as their first non-chemotherapy regimen in the metastatic setting (can include CDK inhibitor with aromatase inhibitor) * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0-2 * Ability to understand and the willingness to sign an Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved informed consent document (either directly or via a legally authorized representative) Exclusion Criteria: * Women with human epidermal growth factor-2 (HER2) positive breast cancer would be excluded from this pilot given the confounding issue of the cardiotoxicity associated with HER2-directed therapies. * History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to adenosine (or regadenoson for those with history of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease \[COPD\]) * Those with contraindications for MRI such as some breast expanders, ferromagnetic cerebral aneurysm clips or other intracranial metal, pacemakers, defibrillators, functioning neurostimulator devices or other implanted electronic devices * Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements * Pregnant women are excluded from this study; a pregnancy test is required, unless the patient has undergone either a bilateral oophorectomy, hysterectomy or both * Coronary revascularization in the past 6 months or known severe multi-vessel coronary artery disease (CAD) previously determined to be not amenable to mechanical intervention * Ongoing, unrelieved symptoms thought to represent cardiac ischemia and requiring immediate cardiac catheterization
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27157, United States
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