Wouter Meijers, cardiologist in training at the UMCG, has received a grant of 245,000 euros from the Heart Foundation. Over the next three years, Meijers will investigate how immunotherapy in cancer leads to damage to the heart and whether it is possible to counteract this damage.
Immunotherapy, in which the own immune system is stimulated to fight cancer cells, leads to inflammation of the heart in patients. Meijers will investigate why this is and whether it is possible to prevent this damage.
The damage to the heart from immunotherapy is more common in women than in men. The role of female hormones therefore plays an important role in Meijer’s research. In addition, heart attacks are more common in people who receive immunotherapy. Meijers therefore also wants to know whether it is sometimes better to (temporarily) stop the therapy.
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