Predicting Normal Tissue Radiotoxicity in Radiotherapy Patients Based on the Individual Radiosensitivity Using Three-Color Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization: A Literature Review

Abstract

Background: The variability of clinical response in radiotherapy (RT) patients revealed that individual radiosensitivity exists in humans. Although several techniques for radiosensitivity assessment are available, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) has proven to be the most reliable cytogenetic technique. This study will review the use of three-color FISH to evaluate the individual radiosensitivity in cancer patients, particularly breast and prostate cancer patients. Also, it will explain factors that should be considered when using this assay in RT patients.Methods: We used the “radiosensitivity”, “fluorescence in situ hybridization”, “FISH”, and “cancer” as medical subject headings. Non-English articles were excluded. Only articles written in English with a full-text PDF format could be found and using three-color FISH for individual radiosensitivity prediction in radiotherapy patients as subjects were included in this review.Results: : In total, 1,905 articles were retrieved from PubMed and PubMed Central databases from 1990 to 2020. The articles were screened, and those that met the inclusion criteria and did not meet the exclusion criteria were reviewed. Finally, we evaluated eight articles in this reviewConclusions: Appropriate assays such as three-color FISH for individual radiosensitivity assessment could optimize the effectiveness of RT treatment and predict the severity of normal tissue toxicity reactions in RT patients.