anthracyclines
(an-thra-SY-kleenz)
Drugs that kill cancer cells by stopping their growth. They can also make it hard for cancer cells to repair damage. Adriamycin (chemical name: doxorubicin), often used for breast cancer, is one of these drugs.
Doxil (chemical name: doxorubicin), daunorubicin (brand names: Cerubidine, DaunoXome), Ellence (chemical name: epirubicin), and mitoxantrone (brand name: Novantrone) are other anthracyclines.
Audio contributed by: John Mahoney