Apoptosis Assay Predicts Differences in Late Toxicity

The use of an apoptosis assay can help predict the differences in late toxicity among individuals with solid tumors and thus may be used as a rapid screen for genetically hypersensitive patients. This finding was presented at annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Washington, DC (USA).

Researchers tested 339 patients, treated by curative radiation therapy, using a rapid apoptosis assay where fresh blood samples were irradiated with 8-Gy x-rays. Median CD4 and CD8 T-lymphocyte apoptosis was 12% and 20%, respectively. While no correlation was found between early toxicity and T-lymphocyte apoptosis, the rapid assay significantly predicted the clinically critical grade 2 and 3 late toxicities. The majority of the patients in the study had breast (149), head and neck (75), or prostate cancers (36). The median follow-up for all treated patients was 29 months.

"We believe that this is the first rapid assay of intrinsic radiosensitivity that has been confirmed prospectively and can be used to prospectively eliminate from trials all patients likely to display severe late effects, which has been a recurring concern in the clinic when developing new protocols,” said Nigel Cromptom, Ph.D., professor of biology at Cornerstone University (Grand Rapids, MI, USA) and one of the investigators.




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