Funding outcome

Breast cancer survivors have an increased risk of heart disease. It is commonly thought that the drugs used to treat breast cancer contribute to this heart disease. However, we have observed that prior to starting drug therapy, women with breast cancer release certain molecules from their tumors which may contribute to heart problems later in life. Thus, our goal is to better understand the impact of the breast tumor itself in heart disease. To test this, we will inject mice with breast cancer cells and wait for them to develop tumors. Then, we will observe how this impacts their heart function and take note of key molecules involved. Lastly, we will treat them with a cancer drug to see if there are noticeable changes in heart function. Ultimately, our work may identify new target molecules that can be inhibited to prevent the development of heart disease later in life.