Blocking a protein known as CDK7 could prevent heart damage associated with a commonly used cancer chemotherapy medication, according to a study led by scientists at Washington State University. Importantly, the researchers also found that inhibiting CDK7 could help enhance the medication's cancer-killing capability. Based on an animal model, the study findings could provide a foundation for future treatment strategies to reduce chemotherapy-related heart toxicity and increase treatment effectiveness.
This could ultimately help increase the lifespan of people with cancer. Heart damage related to chemotherapy treatment can surface decades after treatment and can result in heart attacks, heart failure, cardiomyopathy and other types of heart disease. Published in the journal Cardiovascular Research , the WSU study focused on doxorubicin, a chemotherapy drug used to treat breast cancer, lymphoma, leukemia and other cancers.
Capable of killing a wide range of cancer cells, doxorubicin and other similar chemotherapy medications are known to be toxic to the heart. Despite this toxicity, the drug still sees a lot of use. Doxorubicin remains the mainstay treatment for certain cancer types for which targeted therapies or other better treatments are not available.
" Zhaokang Cheng, senior study author, associate professor, WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Cheng has been working to unravel the underlying mechanisms of doxorubicin-induced heart toxicity to make the use .
