FORCE - Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered  University of South Florida

Cancer Treatment

Are people with BRCA mutations more sensitive to cardiac-damaging effects of chemotherapy than people without mutations.  

Some research has suggested that the BRCA gene may help repair damage to cardiac cells. Anthracyclines are potent chemotherapy agents used to treat many breast cancers but have been linked to heart damage. This has led to researchers studying whether women with BRCA mutations are more prone to the heart damaging effects of these agents. Preliminary research has shown mixed results. This study could confirm whether or not a BRCA mutation makes people more sensitive to the heart damaging effects of these drugs. If proven, this could affect choice of chemotherapy for breast cancer in women with mutations.

Research Prioritization Process

ABOUT's patient-driven research process, known as "GAP360" takes unanswered medical questions submitted by the community and turns them into well-defined research questions that can be answered through ABOUT research. GAP stands for Generate, Assess, Prioritize, Plan, Perform, and Publish — the steps that are involved in this process.

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ABOUT is a Patient-Powered Research Network in PCORnet®,  the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, an initiative funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).

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