title: Differences in Circulating Endothelial Progenitor Cells among Childhood Cancer Survivors Treated with and without Radiation.
abstract: Radiation during childhood cancer treatment increases the propensity to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease among adult survivors of childhood cancer. This is thought to be mediated through the damage to the underlying vascular endothelium. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) involved in vascular endothelial repair after its damage may be affected by radiation therapy but have never been investigated in adult survivors of childhood cancer. In this pilot study, utilizing multi-parametric flowcytometry, endothelial colony forming cells (ECFCs), which are the bonafide EPCs, and circulating endothelial cells (CECs), which are not EPCs, were compared between adult survivors of childhood cancer with or without radiation exposure. In addition, their associations with blood-pressure, physical activity and diet were examined. Survivors who received radiotherapy had lower ECFCs and CECs (p<0.05) compared to those without it. Significant positive correlations included physical activity with ECFCs and diet with CECs, while blood-pressure negatively correlated with ECFCs. Further evaluation is needed to examine the effect of radiation and modifiable risk factors on ECFCs and CECs. The preliminary findings from this study suggest evidence of the role of ECFCs as biomarkers of vascular injury following treatment for childhood cancer that may help in early identification of survivors at risk for cardiovascular disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA ; Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, Indiana University Melvin, Indiana, USA ; Department of Pediatrics, Scripps Clinic Medical Group, Center for Organ and Cell Transplantation, La Jolla, California, USA.
authors.forename: Kamnesh
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pradhan
authors.affiliation: Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, Indiana University Melvin, Indiana, USA ; Department of Pediatrics, Scripps Clinic Medical Group, Center for Organ and Cell Transplantation, La Jolla, California, USA ; Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mund
authors.affiliation: Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, Indiana University Melvin, Indiana, USA ; Department of Pediatrics, Scripps Clinic Medical Group, Center for Organ and Cell Transplantation, La Jolla, California, USA ; Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA ; Scripps Clinic Medical Group, Center for Organ and Cell Transplantation, La Jolla, California, USA.
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Case
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
authors.forename: Samir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Division of Biostatistics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, USA.
authors.forename: Ziyue
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
authors.forename: Wambui
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gathirua-Mwangi
authors.affiliation: University of Florida School of Nursing, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McDaniel
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA ; Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, Indiana University Melvin, Indiana, USA ; Department of Pediatrics, Scripps Clinic Medical Group, Center for Organ and Cell Transplantation, La Jolla, California, USA.
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Renbarger
authors.affiliation: Indiana University School of Nursing, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Champion
keywords: Childhood cancer survivors; Endothelial cell functions; Long-term toxicities; Pediatric cancers; Radiation induced late effects