Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Jun 24, 2026 1 day, 3 hours, 58 minutes ago
Medical News: Cancer treatments have helped millions of patients live longer, but scientists are increasingly discovering that some of these life-saving therapies may come with unexpected dangers for the heart. A new review is highlighting a little-known calcium channel called CaV1.3 as a possible key link between cancer, cancer treatments, and potentially serious heart rhythm disorders.
Scientists identify the CaV1.3 calcium channel as a crucial link between cancer, chemotherapy, and potentially
dangerous heart rhythm disorders
The research was conducted by scientists from the Cardiovascular Research Program at the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System, the Department of Medicine, Cell Biology and Pharmacology at the State University of New York Downstate Health Sciences University, and the Department of Medicine at New York University Grossman School of Medicine, all in New York, USA.
A Tiny Channel with a Huge Role
CaV1.3 is a specialized calcium channel found in heart cells. Its main job is to help regulate the heart’s natural electrical system, controlling heartbeat generation and the transmission of electrical signals through the heart. When functioning normally, it helps maintain a steady rhythm.
However, researchers found that CaV1.3 is also active in several cancers, including prostate, breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancers. In tumors, the channel appears to help cancer cells grow, spread, and resist treatment.
This dual role has made CaV1.3 a major focus in the emerging field of cardio-oncology, which studies the connection between cancer and heart disease.
Why Cancer Patients Face More Arrhythmias
Heart rhythm disorders, known as arrhythmias, are common among cancer patients. Atrial fibrillation, one of the most frequent arrhythmias, occurs significantly more often in people with cancer than in the general population.
The review explains that cancer itself can trigger inflammation, oxidative stress, low-oxygen conditions, and hormonal disturbances throughout the body. These changes can alter CaV1.3 activity, making heart cells more electrically unstable. As a result, patients may experience abnormal heartbeats, rapid heart rhythms, or atrial fibrillation even before cancer treatment begins.
This
Medical News report highlights that researchers now believe CaV1.3 may act as a molecular bridge connecting cancer-related biological changes to dangerous disturbances in heart rhythm.
Chemotherapy May Disrupt the Heart’s Electrical System
The review also examined how cancer treatments affect CaV1.3. Drugs such as doxorubicin, a widely used chemotherapy medication, generate large amounts of oxidative stress and damage cellular structures, including mitochondria.
Scientists found that these treatment-related stresses can alter the expression, regulation, and function of CaV1.3 channels. When this occurs, the heart’s natural pacemaker system may
become impaired.
The consequences can include slowed heart rates, conduction blocks, irregular electrical signaling, and other rhythm abnormalities. In some cases, these problems may emerge years after cancer therapy has ended.
Researchers also noted that treatment-related changes in calcium handling inside heart cells may further increase the risk of long-term cardiovascular complications.
New Hope for Safer Cancer Care
One of the most promising findings is that CaV1.3 could become a future therapeutic target. Scientists believe that drugs designed specifically to regulate abnormal CaV1.3 activity may one day help protect the heart without interfering with cancer treatment effectiveness.
Advanced laboratory models using patient-derived stem cell heart cells are also being developed to study how individual patients respond to chemotherapy and to identify those at highest risk of cardiac complications.
Conclusion
The review presents compelling evidence that CaV1.3 plays a central role at the intersection of cancer biology and heart health. By influencing both tumor behavior and the heart’s electrical activity, this channel may help explain why many cancer patients develop arrhythmias and other cardiovascular complications. Researchers believe that a deeper understanding of CaV1.3 could lead to better risk prediction, earlier intervention, and the development of targeted therapies that protect the heart while preserving the effectiveness of cancer treatment. Such advances could significantly improve long-term outcomes and quality of life for cancer survivors worldwide.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed International Journal of Molecular Sciences.
https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/13/5663
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Medical News.
Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/cancer
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/cardiology
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