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Updated: Jul 5, 2025

A Doxorubicin-induced Cardiomyopathy Model in Adult Zebrafish
Published on: June 7, 2018
Doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity and risk factors
Carl Belger1, Carmelita Abrahams1, Aqeela Imamdin1
1Cardioprotection Group, Cape Heart Institute, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Abstract:
Doxorubicin (DOX) is an anthracycline antibiotic widely used as a chemotherapeutic agent to treat solid tumours and hematologic malignancies. Although useful in the treatment of cancers, the benefit of DOX is limited due to its cardiotoxic effect that is observed in a large number of patients. In the literature, there is evidence that the presence of various factors may increase the risk of developing DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. A better understanding of the role of these different factors in DOX-induced cardiotoxicity may facilitate the choice of the therapeutic approach in cancer patients suffering from various cardiovascular risk factors. In this review, we therefore discuss the latest findings in both preclinical and clinical research suggesting a link between DOX-induced cardiotoxicity and various risk factors including sex, age, ethnicity, diabetes, dyslipidaemia, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and co-medications.
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