Hypoxic cells resist radiation, some drugs
Knowing which patients have hypoxic, or low oxygen level, tumors may help case managers and physicians decide when to use more aggressive therapies because those patients have a higher risk of metastases. Recent studies indicate that hypoxia in malignant tissues has a significant effect on how those tissues respond to therapy.
Several recent studies indicate that an average of 40% of most types of human solid tumors contain severely or moderately hypoxic areas. Cells in those areas are resistant to radiation and some drugs, and they have the potential to result in poor response to therapy, according to presentations at the recent American Association for Cancer Research conference in New Orleans.
Since hypoxia is present in many solid tumors and not in normal tissues, it represents an attractive target for selective tumor therapy, says Robert Sutherland, PhD, president of Varian Biosynergy, a biotechnology company in Palo Alto, CA. Therapy could be improved for patients with hypoxic tumors by addition of radiosensitizers, he said during a recent presentation at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
Imaging hypoxic regions and monitoring reoxygenation should optimize radiation treatment to include booster doses to radiation resistant hypoxic fields, he notes. Studies indicate it also is reasonable to consider exploiting tumor hypoxia as a selective mechanism for drug activation, Sutherland adds.
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