Platinum Chemotherapy Leaves Adult-Level DNA Damage in Children’s Livers, Study Finds

A study published in Science assessed the long-term genetic impact of platinum-based chemotherapy on children who survived hepatoblastoma. The team collected healthy and tumor liver tissue as well as blood from patients who had received cisplatin, carboplatin, or a combination, and applied NanoSeq DNA sequencing. Results revealed an average of about 2,200 mutations per liver sample, a burden normally seen in adult livers, and mutation counts rose proportionally with the amount of platinum administered.

Compared with blood, liver cells accumulated markedly more mutations, suggesting organ-specific effects of the drugs. The investigators warn that such DNA damage may predispose survivors to liver dysfunction or secondary malignancies, urging closer lifelong surveillance. They also propose that understanding these mechanisms could eventually enable the design of chemotherapies that spare healthy tissue while remaining effective against cancer.