Chemotherapy-Induced Toxicity: A Secondary Effect Caused by Released DNA?

The study by Mittra et al. suggested that chemotherapy-induced toxicity might be caused by released cell-free chromatin (cfCh), which could lead to inflammation and DNA damage in healthy cells. The research demonstrated that DNAse I or Resveratrol-Cu could suppress some chemotherapy-induced toxicities, such as neutropenia and inflammation, across multiple organs and blood cells in a small animal study. The findings indicated that DNA neutralizing agents might prevent these toxicities, although their widespread clinical use remains uncertain due to potential impacts on drug efficacy. The study highlighted the need to consider cell responses, like DNA release, in understanding chemotherapy's late-toxic effects and the potential of DNA neutralizing treatments to mitigate these effects.