Chemotherapy induced cell death. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a cultured cancer cell (HeLa) treated with doxorubicin to cause cell death. Doxorubicin is a type of chemotherapy drug called an anthracycline. Cell death can be programmed, as in apoptosis, or unregulated as in necrosis. Necrosis can be a dose or time related effect of this drug in cultured cancer cells Morphologically at SEM level, necrotic cells characteristically display a ruptured plasma membrane and cell lysis. Magnification: x6000 when printed at 10 centimetres wide. Specimen courtesy of Greg Towers, UCL. For a set of images showing the treated cells see C058/5931 to C058/5967.