Scientists have developed a new tool that may prove to be invaluable for investigating the long-term mutagenic effects of chemotherapy and radiation, therapies that are widely used for the treatment of cancer.
The research study, published in the October issue of Cancer Cell, provides evidence that a genetically engineered mouse model faithfully recapitulates treatment-associated cancers that occur in humans and may be useful for investigating the mechanisms involved in the development of therapy-induced cancers and for testing preventive strategies.
Secondary malignant neoplasms (SMNs) are new cancers that patients develop as a result of having received chemotherapy or radiation to treat a different type of cancer that may have occurred years earlier. To make matters worse, many of these secondary cancers are notoriously resistant to treatment. The occurrence of SMNs is a serious concern for doctors and patients, as the use of intensive radiation and chemotherapy has been more successful in curing primary cancers and has dramatically increased survival rates in children and adults. Unfortunately, as a result of treatment success, the incidence of SMNs has also risen. "The lack of relevant animal models of SMNs has impeded efforts to understand how mutagenic cancer therapeutics induce tumors in vivo, and to test preventive strategies," explains study author Dr. Kevin Shannon, a pediatric oncologist at the University of California, San Francisco.