Doxorubicin

Doxorubicin is an anthracycline chemotherapy drug that damages DNA and inhibits topoisomerase II. It treats several cancers but can cause dose-related heart damage.

Topoisomerase II: An enzyme that cuts and rejoins DNA strands to manage DNA structure during replication and transcription. Doxorubicin stabilizes its DNA-cleavage complex, preventing strand rejoining and generating damaging breaks.
Breast cancer: A group of cancers arising from cells in breast tissue. Doxorubicin is used in established chemotherapy regimens for several breast cancer settings.
Daunorubicin: An anthracycline chemotherapy drug used especially to treat acute leukemias. It shares doxorubicin's drug class and DNA-directed action but has a different pattern of clinical use.
Cumulative dose: The total amount of a drug received over successive treatment cycles. Doxorubicin's cardiac risk rises with lifetime exposure, making total dose clinically consequential.
DNA intercalation: The insertion of a flat molecule between adjacent base pairs in a DNA double helix. Doxorubicin slips between DNA base pairs, disrupting processes that require intact DNA.
Lymphoma: A cancer of lymphocytes, the white blood cells involved in immune function. Doxorubicin is a component of regimens used for Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas.
Epirubicin: An anthracycline chemotherapy drug used in breast and other cancers. It is a stereoisomer of doxorubicin with overlapping uses and a distinct toxicity profile.
Heart failure: A clinical syndrome in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. Doxorubicin-related myocardial injury can lead to this serious late complication.
Reactive oxygen species: Chemically reactive molecules derived from oxygen that can damage cellular proteins, lipids, and DNA. Redox cycling by doxorubicin can produce oxidative stress, contributing to tissue injury.
Osteosarcoma: A malignant bone tumor in which cancer cells produce immature bone tissue. Doxorubicin is commonly included in multi-drug chemotherapy for this bone cancer.

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