ORIGINAL ARTICLE   Free access

Italian Journal of Dermatology and Venereology 2021 February;156(1):84-8

DOI: 10.23736/S2784-8671.20.06401-9

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Capillaroscopy: a new application for the evaluation of vascular side-effects induced by chemotherapy

Michele CARDONE ¹, Gemma CARO ¹ ✉, Beatrice AMOROSI ², Antonio CRISTAUDO ², Aldo MORRONE ², Stefano CALVIERI ¹, Marta CARLESIMO ¹, Maria C. FORTUNA ¹, Alfredo ROSSI ¹

¹ Section of Dermatology, Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy; ² Department of Clinical Dermatology, IRCCS S. Gallicano Dermatological Institute, Rome, Italy

BACKGROUND: Cancer survivors are rising up, but this better survival is accompanied by possible treatments side-effects. In particular, cardiovascular effects are commonly reported, even if vascular damage is not necessarily connected to clinical manifestations. Periungual microcircle evaluation through capillaroscopy could identify asymptomatic patients with high risk of cerebro-cardio-vascular disease. The aim of this pivotal study was to evaluate videocapillaroscopy in patients who undergo chemotherapy, in order to understand if it could represent in future a prognostic tool to predict the risk of cardio-cerebro-vascular events.
METHODS: We conducted an open-label, uncontrolled study. Patients affected by solid tumors were enrolled. Each subject underwent a clinical evaluation and a videocapillaroscopic examination.
RESULTS: We selected 25 patients. Mean age was 55.48 years. Time interval between the start of chemotherapy and capillaroscopy: average 41 months. From our analysis it emerges that ectasia and hemorrhages could be a possible marker of capillary insult caused by chemotherapy.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed the presence of capillaroscopic features that may be peculiar in chemotherapy-induced endothelial damage. The individuation of capillaroscopic alteration specific for chemotherapy-induced endothelial injury could be an important tool to identify patients with high cardiovascular risk.

KEY WORDS: Microscopic angioscopy; Chemotherapy, cancer, regional perfusion; Blood vessels; Adverse effects