Histopathological Examination Of Cardiac-Induced Cardiotoxicity In Rats Treated With Doxorubicin And Cyclophosphamide.

Abstract

Cyclophosphamide is classified as an alkylating agent, whereas doxorubicin belongs to the anthracycline class, both of which are commonly employed chemotherapy drugs. Previous research has established that the choice of chemotherapy medications significantly impacts the development of cardiotoxicity. Myocarditis, characterized by inflammation of the myocardium, adversely affects the heart's electrical system and muscle cells, leading to impaired blood pumping capabilities. Consequently, the heart becomes more susceptible to clot formation, ultimately resulting in cardiac failure. The objective of this study was to observe, compare, and describe the lesions induced by two distinct chemotherapeutic drugs in rat models, utilizing normal heart tissue as the control. Routine Hematoxyline- Eosin (HE) staining was employed for histopathological assessments. Subsequently, the histopathological images were analysed descriptively and statistically using appropriate methods. The findings revealed that the diameter of myocardial cells remained unaffected by both doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide treatments, in comparison to the normal-control group. Histopathologically, both doxorubicin- and cyclophosphamide-treated groups exhibited multiple necrotic myocardial cells and focal infiltrations of mononuclear cells, predominantly macrophages and lymphocytes, between the myocardial cells. Furthermore, distinct pathological differences were observed between the doxorubicin- and cyclophosphamide-treated groups, with cyclophosphamide toxicity additionally presenting with pericarditis alongside myocarditis, in contrast to doxorubicin toxicity. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that the type of chemotherapeutic drugs employed leads to variations in the resulting lesions.