Genetic Screening Predicts Reaction to Radiation Therapy

Researchers have identified a group of 24 genes that are related to the severe side effects experienced by some cancer patients after radiation therapy.

While radiation therapy is a powerful tool for treating cancer, about 5% of patients develop serious side effects ranging from burns to brain damage. Investigators at Stanford University School of Medicine (Palo Alto, CA; USA) searched for a genetic basis for this phenomenon.

They performed DNA microarray analysis on blood samples taken from 57 cancer patients who had recently received radiation treatment. Of this group, 14 patients developed severe toxic reactions. Careful statistical analysis of the microarray data revealed that a group of 24 genes predicted the radiation toxicity in 9 of 14 patients with no false positives among the 43 controls. These findings were published in the April 19, 2004, online edition of the Proceedings of the [U.S.] National Academy of Sciences.

"We have been treating cancer patients as if one treatment fits all,” said senior author Dr. Gilbert Chu, professor of medicine and biochemistry at Stanford University. "Cancer patients need to be treated for their particular cancer and their own bodies. If you knew one of the options carried a big risk, that might alter your decision, or if you eliminate those patients with toxicity you may be willing to use higher doses for the remaining patients.”



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