Discovery may see hike in cancer survival rates

A BREAKTHROUGH by scientists at Queen’s University Belfast could help reduce heart failure in cancer patients and ultimately increase survival rates.

Scientists at Queen’s Centre for Vision and Vascular Science have discovered the role of an enzyme which, when a patient receives chemotherapy, can cause life-threatening damage to the heart.

This has, until now, restricted the amount of chemotherapy doses a patient can receive, diluting the chemotherapy’s effectiveness in destroying cancerous tumours.