Genes Identified that Protect Against Heart Damage from Chemotherapy

A series of genes that protect cells from the powerful, common chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin has been identified by researchers working to understand how the drug also can destroy the heart. "We found a series of genes that are very important for cell survival in the face of doxorubicin,” says Dr. Hernan Flores-Rozas, cancer researcher at the Medical College of Georgia Cancer Center. “At the moment you start inactivating these genes, the cells become very sensitive and don’t grow any more. So now we know which genes we need to inactivate in the cell to make it very sensitive to the drug."