Abstract
Radiation therapy is widely applied as a standard curative treatment in cancers and the therapeutic techniques have improved remarkably in recent years. However, repopulation of surviving cancer cells is frequently observed during fractionated radiotherapy, which limits the efficacy of radiotherapy. These surviving cells often acquire radio resistance through the deregulation of survival signaling pathways, DNA damage repair mechanisms, post-transcriptional regulation of miRNAs, and epigenetic modifications. Therefore, advances in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying cellular sensitivity to irradiation may provide novel diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets to improve the efficacy of radiotherapy. In this review, we summarize previous studies that report on the radio resistance of various cancer cells
Highlights
Radiotherapy (RT) is the standard curative treatment for a number of malignant tumors
The radio response of a tumor is the key factor in determining the therapeutic effect, which is related to tumor radio sensitivity and radio resistance
Several biological processes are involved in radio response regulation, including activation of survival signaling pathways, DNA damage responses and repair mechanisms, miRNA regulation, and epigenetic modification
Summary
Radiotherapy (RT) is the standard curative treatment for a number of malignant tumors. The surrounding normal tissue was injured from ionizing radiation (IR) exposure. With advances in computer technology, radiology developed computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to precisely map targeted tumors in order to reduce the damage to normal tissue. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and proton beam therapy are applied, by aiming photon and proton beams in several directions to efficiently eliminate tumors and to minimize injury to normal organs, which can withstand the treatment and recover after RT. Despite the improvement of therapeutic techniques, numerous patients are prone to relapse due to the intrinsic resistance of cancer cells to radiation. Small populations of cancer cells may survive after RT and repopulate with advanced malignant phenotypes. We have summarized previous studies that reported on the radio resistance of various cancer cells
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