title: Cellular Pathways in Response to Ionizing Radiation and Their Targetability for Tumor Radiosensitization.
abstract: During the last few decades, improvements in the planning and application of radiotherapy in combination with surgery and chemotherapy resulted in increased survival rates of tumor patients. However, the success of radiotherapy is impaired by two reasons: firstly, the radioresistance of tumor cells and, secondly, the radiation-induced damage of normal tissue cells located in the field of ionizing radiation. These limitations demand the development of drugs for either radiosensitization of tumor cells or radioprotection of normal tissue cells. In order to identify potential targets, a detailed understanding of the cellular pathways involved in radiation response is an absolute requirement. This review describes the most important pathways of radioresponse and several key target proteins for radiosensitization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Universitätsmedizin Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, Mannheim 68167, Germany. patrick.maier@medma.uni-heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maier
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Universitätsmedizin Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, Mannheim 68167, Germany. Linda.Hartmann@web.de.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Universitätsmedizin Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, Mannheim 68167, Germany. frederik.wenz@umm.de.
authors.forename: Frederik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wenz
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Universitätsmedizin Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, Mannheim 68167, Germany. carsten.herskind@medma.uni-heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Herskind
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004249:DNA Damage; D004260:DNA Repair; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D011836:Radiation Tolerance; D011839:Radiation, Ionizing; D011838:Radiation-Sensitizing Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D011838:Radiation-Sensitizing Agents
keywords: DNA repair; apoptosis; double strand break; mitotic catastrophe; radioresistance; radiosensitization; radiotherapy; senescence