Abstract IA-025: Exploiting Redox Biology for Selectively Targeting Cancer Cells

Abstract

Abstract Relative to normal cells, cancer cells have been shown to demonstrate fundamental alterations in oxidative metabolism leading to increased steady-state levels of superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and labile iron pools. Alterations in cancer cell oxidative metabolism in turn lead to disruptions in many redox sensitive signaling and gene expression pathways that impact cell growth, differentiation, genomic instability, and cancer progression. Cancer cells adapt to this altered metabolic state by activating many signaling and gene expression pathways that allow them to survive and continue to progress to malignancy. The current talk will discuss how pharmacological ascorbate and superoxide dismutase mimics can be used to target the oxidative metabolic frailties of cancer versus normal cells to enhance therapeutic outcomes to radio-chemo-therapies both in pre-clinical and clinical trials. The long-term goal is to utilize a detailed mechanistic understanding of alterations in cancer versus normal cell oxidative metabolism and redox biology to develop rapidly implementable new strategies that can enhance tumor responses while protecting normal tissues during standard radio-chemo-therapy protocols. (Supported by P01 CA217797, R01 CA182804, T32 CA078586). Citation Format: Douglas R Spitz. Exploiting Redox Biology for Selectively Targeting Cancer Cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Radiation Science and Medicine; 2021 Mar 2-3. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2021;27(8_Suppl):Abstract nr IA-025.