Slow-Release Doxorubicin Pellets Generate Myocardial Cardiotoxic Changes in Mice Without Significant Systemic Toxicity

An increasing volume of pre-clinical and clinical-translational research is attempting to identify novel biomarkers for improved diagnosis and risk-stratification of chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity. Most published animal models have employed weekly intraperitoneal injections of doxorubicin to reach a desired cumulative dose. This approach can be associated with severe systemic toxicity which limits the animal model usefulness, particularly for advanced imaging. In the current study, slow-release subcutaneous doxorubicin pellets demonstrated histopathologic evidence of cardiotoxicity at doses similar to standard human dose-equivalents without limiting animal survival or ability to participate in advanced imaging studies. This approach may provide a more robust cardiotoxicity animal model.