Molecular pathogenetic mechanisms and new therapeutic perspectives in anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy

Anthracyclines are among the most powerful drugs for the treatment of oncologic diseases both in childhood and in adulthood. Nevertheless, their major antineoplastic efficacy can be seriously impaired by collateral toxic cardiac effects causing cardiomyopathy with chronic heart failure that is refra...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inItalian journal of pediatrics Vol. 35; no. 1; p. 37
Main Author Distefano, Giuseppe
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England BioMed Central Ltd 20.11.2009
BioMed Central
BMC
Subjects
Review
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Anthracyclines are among the most powerful drugs for the treatment of oncologic diseases both in childhood and in adulthood. Nevertheless, their major antineoplastic efficacy can be seriously impaired by collateral toxic cardiac effects causing cardiomyopathy with chronic heart failure that is refractory to conventional medical therapy.This article reports possible subcellular molecular alterations of anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy (reactive oxygen species formation, apoptosis, inflammatory signalling, altered expression of cardiomyocytes specific genes, etc) and indicates some new therapeutic perspectives resulting from a better understanding of the molecular pathogenetic mechanisms.
ISSN:1824-7288
1720-8424
1824-7288
DOI:10.1186/1824-7288-35-37