Abstract
Loco-regional recurrence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) after radiation therapy is one of the main types of treatment failure. This study is aimed to explore the possible causes of inside-field recurrence of NPC patients in order to develop effective treatment methods. Our study indicated that CD44 and autophagy proteins in tumor tissues of patients with recurrent NPC are higher than that of the relapse free patients. The in vitro experiments further confirmed that cancer stem cells (CSCs) were more radioresistant with enhanced autophagy activity. Treatment with clioquinol (CQ) combined with zinc could obviously enhance the radiosensitivity of CNE-2s cells through autophagy inhibition, activation of the caspase system and impairment of DNA damage repair. The in vivo experiments have further consolidated our findings. Our results suggest that CSCs and enhanced autophagy activity may be involved in the inside-field recurrence of NPC, and CQ combined with zinc could be an important therapeutic approach for recurrent NPC.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
