Aerobic Exercise and Cardiac Function of Murines Exposed to Doxorubicin: a Meta-Analysis

Abstract Background: Cardiotoxicity may be a consequence of treatments with doxorubicin (DOX). Objectives: To investigate the effect of aerobic exercise on the prevention of cardiac dysfunction in murines exposed to DOX. Method: A comprehensive search was conducted in 9 databases in December 2017. Studies that evaluated the cardiac function of murines exposed to DOX were included. The significance level adopted was 5%. Results: In a comparison between 230 murines that underwent aerobic exercise plus DOX treatment and 222 control murines (DOX treatment only), fractional shortening showed an improvement of 5.33% in favor of the experimental group (p = 0.00001). Left ventricle developed pressure also showed an increase of 24.84 mm Hg in favor of the group of 153 murines that performed exercise in comparison to the control group of 166 murines (p = 0.00001). Conclusion: Preclinical studies included in this meta-analysis indicated that exercise is a good nonpharmacological strategy for preserving post-DOX cardiac function.