In rare cases, cancer treatments can cause serious long-term effects. These include so-called secondary leukemias. This form of blood cancer can develop when chemotherapy or radiotherapy damages the genetic material of healthy cells. A research team led by a scientist from Ulm has now discovered a molecular protective mechanism against such genomic damage: a peptide that can inhibit breaks in the DNA without compromising the curative effect of the actual cancer therapy. These findings could potentially help to make cancer treatments safer. The study was published in the renowned journal Nature Communications.