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Insight Horizon Media

What is anthracycline based chemotherapy?

Author

Daniel Johnson

Published Mar 19, 2026

What is anthracycline based chemotherapy?

Anthracyclines is a class of drugs used in cancer chemotherapy that are extracted from Streptomyces bacterium. These compounds are used to treat many cancers, including leukemias, lymphomas, breast, stomach, uterine, ovarian, bladder cancer, and lung cancers.

What are examples of anthracyclines?

Examples of anthracyclines include:

  • Daunorubicin.
  • Doxorubicin (Adriamycin)
  • Doxorubicin liposomal.
  • Epirubicin.
  • Idarubicin.
  • Valrubicin.

Is paclitaxel an anthracycline?

In particular, the standard in many practices is now the combination of an anthracycline, such as Adriamycin (doxorubicin); a taxane, such as Taxol (paclitaxel) or Taxotere (docetaxel); and other drugs.

What are anthracyclines derived from?

The anthracyclines were originally derived from the bacterium Streptomyces peucetius var caesius, and that is why they fall under a larger class of antitumor antibiotics. Other antitumor antibiotics include mitomycin and bleomycin.

Does anthracycline cause cardiomyopathy?

Anthracycline-induced cardiac dysfunction (ACD) is a notorious side effect of anticancer treatment. It has been described as a phenomenon of a continuous progressive decline of cardiac function, eventually leading to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).

What type of drug is anthracycline?

Anthracycline: A member of a family of chemotherapy drugs that are also antibiotics. The anthracyclines act to prevent cell division by disrupting the structure of the DNA and terminate its function.

Is trastuzumab an anthracycline?

Anthracyclines and trastuzumab are well-known cardiotoxins; however, the rates of symptomatic and asymptomatic changes in LVEF vary among different patient populations and in different clinical trials. Much of the data available comes from select patients meeting eligibility criteria for clinical trial participation.

Is gemcitabine an anthracycline?

Gemcitabine (Gemzar)–a relatively effective, well-tolerated and partially non-cross-resistant antitumor compound with limited toxicity–represents an attractive alternative to paclitaxel/anthracycline combinations.

Why do anthracyclines cause cardiotoxicity?

Anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity is due in large part to the generation of free radicals from doxorubicin through mitochondrial redox cycling of doxorubicin in the cardiomyocyte, which ultimately results in left ventricular dysfunction, and in the most severe cases, congestive heart failure.

What is the greatest risk for anthracycline induced cardiotoxicity?

Conclusions: Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and obesity are associated with increased risk of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity, which indicates that corresponding protective strategies should be used during and after anthracycline treatment.

What is anthracycline used for?

A type of antibiotic that comes from certain types of Streptomyces bacteria. Anthracyclines are used to treat many types of cancer. Anthracyclines damage the DNA in cancer cells, causing them to die. Daunorubicin, doxorubicin, and epirubicin are anthracyclines.

Is Doxil an anthracycline?

Doxorubicin is an anthracycline class medication used to manage and treat various types of malignancies and tumors.