kids of people who have had chemo may be more at risk for disease

get healthing in your inbox with the morning checkup and weekender newsletter!

the researchers recommend people who plan on starting a family after chemotherapy consider freezing their sperm or eggs before treatment.

by dave yasvinski

published dec 01, 2022

last updated feb 19, 2025

3 minute read

join the conversation

3 minute read

join the conversation

chemo is still an effective way to stop cancer spread, despite risks

the current study showed evidence of epigenetic changes in the two generations linked to the original exposure to chemotherapy. getty

a new study has found that a common chemotherapy drug can increase susceptivity to disease in future generations of patients who use it.

the research, published in the journal iscience, found male rats that were administered the drug ifosfamide during adolescence produced offspring and grand-offspring that were more likely to contract disease. although previous research has shown cancer treatments can increase the likelihood of disease later in a patient’s life, this is one of the first studies to show this increased vulnerability can be inherited by a third generation.

“the findings suggest that if a patient receives chemotherapy and then later has children, that their grandchildren and even great-grandchildren may have an increased disease susceptibility due to their ancestors’ chemotherapy exposure,” said michael skinner, corresponding author of the study and a biologist at washington state university.

the researcher stressed that this discovery should not discourage patients from engaging in chemotherapy as it remains an effective way to kill cancerous cells and prevent them from spreading. it does, however, highlight some of the many side-effects that can arise from an intense, system-wide treatment that implicates reproductive systems. as such, the team recommends that anyone who plans on starting a family following chemotherapy seriously considers freezing their sperm or ova prior to treatment.

to arrive at the results, researchers exposed a young group of male rats to ifosfamide at a dose and duration that replicated what a human adolescent would be required to endure. they were then bred with female rats who had not been exposed to the drug and their resulting offspring was bred again with another set of unexposed rats.

the first generation of offspring was found to experience greater incidence of disease, as expected, because of their father’s exposure to the drug; but the second generation — with no direct exposure — experienced this as well. the associated problems varied slightly by sex and generation but included greater incidence of kidney and testis diseases and a delayed onset of puberty. they were also found to have abnormally low anxiety, a finding typically indicative of an impaired ability to evaluate risk.

the team also examined the rats’ epigenomes — molecular processes that are separate from dna sequence but capable of influencing gene expression by, for example, turning them on or off. previous research has found that epigenetic changes during development, from things such as exposure to toxic substances, can be passed on through sperm and ova. the current study showed evidence of epigenetic changes in the two generations linked to the original exposure to chemotherapy. this finding, the team said, indicates that the negative effects seen in the unexposed offspring were the result of epigenetic inheritance.

the researchers are currently putting together a human study involving adolescent cancer survivors that they hope will shed more light on the relationship between chemotherapy and disease susceptibility. knowing the epigenetic shifts caused by the cancer treatment could better prepare patients for future challenges and perhaps even allow for early prevention and treatment of certain diseases.

“we could potentially determine if a person’s exposure had these epigenetic shifts that could direct what diseases they’re going to develop and what they’re going to potentially pass on to their grandchildren,” skinner said. “we could use epigenetics to help diagnose whether they’re going to have a susceptibility to disease.”

dave yasvinski is a writer with healthing.ca

don’t miss a thing: sign-up for healthing’s newsletter

thank you for your support. if you liked this story, please send it to a friend. every share counts.