Radiotherapy according to genetic indications
Genes will predict the need for cancer treatment
ABC Magazine based on UT Southwestern Medical Center: Gene may predict if further cancer treatments are needed
The impetus for the discovery was a study conducted at the University of Texas using mice, which were model organisms for lung cancer research. The initial goal was to study the effect of different types of radiation on the development and progression of cancer in such mice. Scientists have found that radiation provokes tumor growth and a more malignant course of pathology. In search of the cause of this effect, the activity of some genes that initially functioned normally and were not suspected of involvement in tumor development was evaluated.
The analysis revealed several genes, the expression of which varied differently with a positive and unfavorable reaction to radiation. It turned out that humans have exactly the same genes. Moreover, after analyzing more than 700 patients, it was found that the intensity of protein synthesis encoded in predictor genes correlated with the results of recovery after chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Even if people have the same form of cancer, with identical histological characteristics, treatment can give completely different results, often the opposite. Now it is clear that this reaction depends not only on the physiological characteristics of each person's body, but rather on the individual characteristics of the genome.
This study concerns adenocarcinoma, a type of lung cancer that affects both smokers and non—smokers. The result is also valuable for breast cancer. However, for another type of lung cancer, called squamous cell, the result is uninformative.
Professor Jerry Shay, commenting on the discovery, stressed that the era of personalized medicine has already arrived. The goal of modern cancer researchers is to find individual factors that can be taken into account even before the start of therapy for maximum effectiveness.
According to The American Cancer Society, every 13th man and every 16th woman, both smokers and non-smokers, has a risk of developing lung cancer. Lung cancer is the second most common form of cancer in men and women, accounting for about 13 percent of all new cancers, and about 27 percent of cancer deaths. The statistics of survival and transition to remission vary greatly depending on the stage of cancer at the time of diagnosis and the individual response to therapy. The right choice of therapeutic tactics can significantly reduce side effects and determine the outcome of the disease.
The results obtained are the basis for providing more individualized care, and in general this is a step towards more effective and scientifically based medicine.
The article by Sang Bum Kim, Aadil Kaisani and Jerry W. Shay Risk assessment of space radiation-induced invasive cancer in mouse models of lung and colorectal cancer is published in the Journal of Radiation Research.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru01.04.2014