Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Chemotherapeutics and hormesis.

Edward J Calabrese1, Linda A Baldwin

  • 1Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Morrill Science Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA. edwardc@schoolph.umass.edu

Critical Reviews in Toxicology
|June 18, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Chemotherapeutic drugs can exhibit hormesis, a biphasic dose response where low doses stimulate beneficial effects while high doses cause harm. Understanding this hormetic effect is crucial for optimizing drug development and clinical use.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

The crucible of resilience: hormesis as the unifying principle of evolution, genetics, and epigenetics.

Archives of toxicology·2026
Same author

Hormesis in biomedical and toxicological models: A generalizable phenomenon induced by per- and polyfluoroalkyl agents.

Chemico-biological interactions·2026
Same author

Canine environmental health: An EPA blind spot? Canine physiology, environmental exposure, and the regulatory gap in U.S. policy.

Regulatory toxicology and pharmacology : RTP·2026
Same author

Hormetic effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances on ecologically relevant animal models: Generality, quantitative features, and risk assessment implications.

Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)·2026
Same author

How the US NAS BEAR I Genetics Panel scientific misconduct could have been avoided, but was not.

Journal of occupational and environmental hygiene·2026
Same author

BEAR I Genetics Panel: An unexpected and troubling historical twist: The untold story of Hermann Muller's significant scientific confusion.

Journal of occupational and environmental hygiene·2026

Area of Science:

  • Pharmacology and Toxicology
  • Biomedical Sciences

Background:

  • Chemotherapeutic agents are widely used in medicine.
  • Their dose-response relationships are typically assumed to be linear.
  • Hormesis, a biphasic dose response, has not been comprehensively studied for these agents.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To conduct the first comprehensive assessment of hormetic effects in chemotherapeutic agents.
  • To analyze the quantitative and mechanistic features of these biphasic dose responses.
  • To explore the clinical implications of hormetic responses to chemotherapy.

Main Methods:

  • Review and analysis of existing literature on chemotherapeutic dose-response relationships.
  • Identification of studies reporting biphasic or hormetic effects.
  • Assessment of quantitative dose-response characteristics and underlying mechanisms.

Main Results:

  • Hormetic dose-response relationships were identified for a broad spectrum of chemotherapeutics.
  • These include antibiotics, antiviral, and antitumor agents.
  • Effects on endpoints like hair growth, prostate function, and cognition were also observed.

Conclusions:

  • The hormetic, or biphasic, nature of dose responses is a common feature of chemotherapeutic agents.
  • Recognizing these hormetic effects can significantly impact experimental design in drug assessment.
  • This understanding may lead to more successful clinical applications of chemotherapeutics.

Related Experiment Videos