The role of BRaf in the heart and cardiac effects of vemurafenib, dabrafenib and trametinib, recently licensed cancer therapies that target BRaf and MKK1/2
Cancer is a common disease and many patients are given powerful anticancer drugs in order to combat it. However, little is known about the other effects these drugs have on the body, particularly the heart and circulatory system. This laboratory’s work will improve our understanding of how cancer drugs may disrupt the normal function of the heart. Professor Angela Clerk from the University of Reading has been awarded nearly £263,000 to do a 3-year study looking at the effects that some new cancer treatments might have on the heart. Many cancer drugs work by targeting proteins and molecules that are important for the normal function of the heart. Professor Clerk is particularly interested in an important protein called BRaf, which is thought to protect the heart from injury. Not only is little known about BRaf’s protective effects, but also new treatments for melanoma (a type of skin cancer) work by blocking the action of BRaf. She will use molecular techniques to understand the effects of BRaf by looking at healthy mouse hearts that do not have this protein. She will then look at the effects of drugs that block BRaf on healthy mouse hearts and in mice with high blood pressure. This research could lead to new techniques to protect the heart in patients undergoing cancer treatment.
Project details
| Grant amount | £279,016 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Project Grants |
| Application type | Project Grant |
| Start Date | 24 March 2014 |
| Duration | 3 years |
| Reference | PG/13/71/30460 |
| Status | Complete |
