DNA Cleavage/Repair and Signal Transduction Pathways in Irradiated Breast Tumor Cells
Abstract
One primary limitation to the utilization of radiotherapy in the treatment of breast cancer is the toxicity of radiation (both immediate and delayed) to normal host tissue Consequently, the identification of approaches to enhance the effectiveness of low doses of radiation without concomitant increases in host tissue toxicity (i.e. a favorable therapeutic ratio), could improve the clinical treatment of breast cancer patients with fractionated radiation. Although radiation therapy is effective at shrinking tumors in anticipation of surgery and ostensibly eliminating breast cancer cells, many patients ultimately suffer from disease recurrence. We hypothesize that this recurrence may be related, at least in part, to the existence of a few residual cells which lie dormant or quiescent for an extended time period, but ultimately recover proliferative capacity. There have been some hints in the literature that this recovery may occur in studies of repopulation after irradiation. Consequently, we have initiated studies to determine whether a subpopulation of breast tumor cells survives and recovers reproductive function after irradiation, and to investigate the biochemical and molecular characteristics of the recovered cells.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA412923
Entities
People
- David A. Gewirtz
Organizations
- Virginia Commonwealth University