Comparative cardiac toxicity of anthracyclines in vitro and in vivo in the mouse.

Purpose: The antineoplastic efficacy of anthracyclines is limited by their cardiac toxicity. In this study, we evaluated the toxicity of doxorubicin, non-pegylated liposomal-delivered doxorubicin, and epirubicin in HL-1 adult cardiomyocytes in culture as well as in the mouse in vivo.

Methods: The cardiomyocytes were incubated with the three anthracyclines (1 µM) to assess reactive oxygen generation, DNA damage and apoptotic cell death.