Radiation is a brutal and in many cases necessary part of cancer therapy. More 50% of cancer patients receive radiotherapy as part of their treatment, and many experience concurrent negative side effects. In addition, a smaller fraction of patients develop severe late radiation toxicity, months or years after their treatment in normal tissues near the tumor site. For example, in prostate cancer--a tumor in the prostate gland that lies between the bladder and the rectum--late radiation toxicity affects rectal, bladder, and sexual function in 5–10% of patients. A new study by Micheline Giphart-Gassler (Leiden University Medical Center) and colleagues published in the international open-access journal PLoS Medicine now suggests that in the future scientists might be able to tell who is at higher risk for such late toxicity and adjust treatments accordingly.
Scientists don't know why some patients develop late radiation toxicity, but one theory is that some patients have a genetic predisposition. Giphart-Gassler and colleagues tested this by comparing radiation-induced changes in the gene expression profiles in blood cells from 21 patients who had late radiation toxicity after radiotherapy with the changes seen in cells from patients who did not developed such complications. Irradiation with X-rays induced the expression of numerous genes in the cells, including many known radiation-responsive genes. From those, the researchers derived a gene expression profile (or molecular signature) that was associated with late radiation toxicity. A signature based on the radiation response of 50 individual genes correctly classified 63% of the patient population in terms of whether they had developed late radiation toxicity. A signature based on the radiation response of gene sets containing genes linked by function or cellular localization correctly classified 86% of the patient population.
While these results are not robust enough to apply them in a clinical setting, they support the idea that some patients are genetically predisposed to develop late radiation toxicity and also provide clues about which cellular pathways might be involved. The study suggests that it might one day be possible to predict which patients are at high and at low risk for late-radiation toxicity, respectively, and adjust their treatment accordingly. The results also point to certain molecular pathways involved in response to radiation which might be targets for interventions that protect against the toxic side effects of radiation.
As Adrian Begg (Radboud University Medical Center) states in an accompanying Perspective article, these are intriguing, preliminary results on an important question that has been difficult to answer. Future studies are needed to determine whether expression profiles such as this one can serve as robust predictors of late radiation toxicity.
* * * * * * * * EMBARGO: MONDAY, 30 October, 5 P.M. PDT * * * * * * * * *
PLEASE MENTION THE OPEN-ACCESS JOURNAL PLoS MEDICINE (www.plosmedicine.org) AS THE SOURCE FOR THESE ARTICLES AND PROVIDE A LINK TO THE FREELY-AVAILABLE TEXT. THANK YOU.
Citation: Svensson JP, Stalpers LJA, Esveldt–van Lange REE, Franken NAP, Haveman J, et al. (2006) Analysis of gene expression using gene sets discriminates cancer patients with and without late radiation toxicity. PLoS Med 3(10): e422.
PLEASE ADD THE LINK TO THE PUBLISHED ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0030422
PRESS-ONLY PREVIEW OF THE ARTICLE: http://www.plos.org/press/plme-03-10-giphardt-gassler.pdf
University of Amsterdam
Academic Medical Centrum
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland 1105 AZ Netherlands
Leiden University Medical Center
Leiden, Zuid-Holland 2300 RC Netherlands
Related PLoS Medicine Perspectives article:
Citation: Begg AC (2006) Can the Severity of Normal Tissue Damage after Radiation Therapy Be Predicted? PLoS Med 3(10): e440.
PLEASE ADD THE LINK TO THE PUBLISHED ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0030440
PRESS-ONLY PREVIEW OF THE ARTICLE: http://www.plos.org/press/plme-03-10-begg.pdf
The Netherlands Cancer Institute
All works published in PLoS Medicine are open access. Everything is immediately available without cost to anyone, anywhere--to read, download, redistribute, include in databases, and otherwise use--subject only to the condition that the original authorship is properly attributed. Copyright is retained by the authors. The Public Library of Science uses the Creative Commons Attribution License.
About PLoS Medicine
PLoS Medicine is an open access, freely available international medical journal. It publishes original research that enhances our understanding of human health and disease, together with commentary and analysis of important global health issues. For more information, visit http://www.plosmedicine.org
About the Public Library of Science
The Public Library of Science (PLoS) is a non-profit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world's scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource. For more information, visit http://www.plos.org
Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Feb 2009
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.