Prediction of normal tissue toxicity as part of the individualized treatment with radiotherapy in oncology patients.
Normal tissue toxicity caused by radiotherapy conditions the success of the treatment and the quality of life of patients. Radiotherapy is combined with surgery in both the preoperative or postoperative setting for the treatment of most localized solid tumour types. Furthermore, radical radiotherapy is an alternative to surgery in several tumour locations. The possibility of predicting such radiation-induced toxicity would make possible a better treatment schedule for the individual patient. Radiation-induced toxicity is, at least in part, genetically determined. From decades, several predictive tests have been proposed to know the individual sensitivity of patients to the radiotherapy schedules. Among them, initial DNA damage, radiation-induced apoptosis, gene expression profiles, and gene polymorphisms have been proposed. We report here an overview of the main studies regarding to this field. Radiation-induced apoptosis in peripheral blood lymphocytes seem to be the most promising assay tested in prospective clinical trials, although they have to be validated in large clinical studies. Other promising assays, as those related with single nucleotide polymorphisms, need to be validated as well.
Radiation Oncology Department, Hospital Universitario de Gran Canaria "Dr. Negrín", Barranco de La Ballena s/n, CP 35010, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. lhenriquez@dcc.ulpgc.es
Luis Alberto
LA
Henríquez-Hernández
Elisa
E
Bordón
Beatriz
B
Pinar
Marta
M
Lloret
Carlos
C
Rodríguez-Gallego
Pedro C
PC
Lara
D017209:Apoptosis / Q000528:radiation effects; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000528:radiation effects; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000235:genetics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis / Q000379:methods