Many cancers can be successfully treated, but treatment itself often comes with risks as well.
Many cancers can be successfully treated, but treatment itself often comes with risks as well. Cancer therapy that uses anthracyclines—a class of commonly used chemotherapy drugs—has been associated with heart damage that can eventually result in heart failure. It is thought to be the reason why heart disease is a leading cause of death in cancer survivors, immediately following cancer recurrence.
Scientists have not fully understood how exposure to anthracyclines can lead to heart failure, but a new study led by researchers at Washington State University has made a giant leap toward that goal. In a recent paper published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the research team showed that a protein named FOXO1 plays a critical role in heart damage resulting from treatment with doxorubicin, an anthracycline chemotherapy drug. Using a rodent model, they also demonstrated that by suppressing FOXO1 through the use of FOXO1 inhibitor drugs they could prevent doxorubicin-induced heart damage.
Their discovery opens up possibilities for the development of new combination drugs or treatment strategies to reduce heart damage from cancer treatment, which could help increase the life expectancy of cancer survivors.
Read more at Washington State University
Image: Senior author and assistant professor Zhaokang Cheng (left) discusses an experiment with first author and postdoctoral research fellow Peng Xia. Their work to reduce heart damage from cancer treatment could someday help increase the life expectancy of cancer survivors. (Credit: Photo by Cori Kogan, Washington State University Spokane)
