Gene variations may raise the risk that survivors of childhood cancer will suffer congestive heart failure as a complication of drugs they received during cancer treatment.

The researchers studied anthracyclines, a commonly used class of anticancer drugs known to cause heart damage in some patients.
The research team investigated two groups of childhood cancer survivors, all of whom had been treated with anthracyclines.
The study compared 47 patients with congestive heart failure ( CHF ) to a control group of 195 patients without CHF.

The researchers investigated 10 polymorphisms, naturally occurring variants in DNA bases called nucleotides, in seven genes they identified as having a role in biological responses to anthracyclines.

" We found that polymorphisms in the GSTP gene significantly increased a patient's risk for congestive heart failure after treatment with anthracyclines, " said Richard Aplenc, at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. One polymorphism increased risk by five times; another variant was linked to a tripling of risk.

The research group chose particular genes as candidates for study because those genes carry the codes for enzymes involved in metabolizing anthracyclines and the reactive oxygen molecules that anthracyclines produce. If physicians can better classify gene variations that modify side effects of anticancer drugs, they may be able to better tailor treatment plans to individual patients. Thus, knowledge of a patient's genetic makeup may allow physicians to select a more personalized, less toxic treatment.

Source: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2006


XagenaMedicine2006