ijms-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Molecular Aspects of Cancer Radiotherapy

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Oncology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2024) | Viewed by 2075

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centro Cardiovascular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa (CCUL@RISE), 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: angiogenesis; radiotherapy; cancer; ionizing radiation; ischemia; neovascularization; microenvironment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will gather recent research and advances in our understanding  of the molecular aspects of radiotherapy in cancer treatment. We welcome articles exploring the molecular biology of radiation response and resistance processes, the development of novel therapies and combination approaches, and the identification of predictive and prognostic biomarkers. Additionally, we embrace studies investigating radiation-induced DNA damage and repair mechanisms, interactions between radiotherapy and the tumor microenvironment, the biological effects of ionizing radiation doses on peritumoral tissues and its consequence in tumor progression and metastasis development, the cardiotoxic effects of radiotherapy as a standalone therapy or in conjunction with chemotherapy and its relevance in the field of cardio-oncology, and technological advances in precise radiation delivery. This Special Issue will foster discussion and knowledge exchange, positively impacting the efficacy and safety of radiotherapy in the context of cancer treatment.

Prof. Dr. Susana Constantino Rosa Santos
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • radiotherapy
  • cancer treatment
  • resistance
  • DNA damage and repair
  • tumor microenvironment

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
12 pages, 3390 KiB  
Article
PTEN Depletion Increases Radiosensitivity in Response to Ataxia Telangiectasia-Related-3 (ATR) Inhibition in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
by Victoria L. Dunne, Mihaela Ghita-Pettigrew, Kelly M. Redmond, Donna M. Small, Sinéad Weldon, Clifford C. Taggart, Kevin M. Prise, Gerard G. Hanna and Karl T. Butterworth
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(14), 7817; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25147817 - 17 Jul 2024
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1776
Abstract
Radiotherapy (RT) treatment is an important strategy for the management of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Local recurrence amongst patients with late-stage NSCLC remains a challenge. The loss of PTEN has been associated with radio-resistance. This study aimed to examine the efficacy of [...] Read more.
Radiotherapy (RT) treatment is an important strategy for the management of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Local recurrence amongst patients with late-stage NSCLC remains a challenge. The loss of PTEN has been associated with radio-resistance. This study aimed to examine the efficacy of RT combined with ataxia telangiectasia-mutated Rad3-related (ATR) inhibition using Ceralasertib in phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN)-depleted NSCLC cells and to assess early inflammatory responses indicative of radiation pneumonitis (RP) after combined-modality treatment. Small hairpin RNA (shRNA) transfections were used to generate H460 and A549 PTEN-depleted models. Ceralasertib was evaluated as a single agent and in combination with RT in vitro and in vivo. Histological staining was used to assess immune cell infiltration in pneumonitis-prone C3H/NeJ mice. Here, we report that the inhibition of ATR in combination with RT caused a significant reduction in PTEN-depleted NSCLC cells, with delayed DNA repair and reduced cell viability, as shown by an increase in cells in Sub G1. Combination treatment in vivo significantly inhibited H460 PTEN-depleted tumour growth in comparison to H460 non-targeting PTEN-expressing (NT) cell-line-derived xenografts (CDXs). Additionally, there was no significant increase in infiltrating macrophages or neutrophils except at 4 weeks, whereby combination treatment significantly increased macrophage levels relative to RT alone. Overall, our study demonstrates that ceralasertib and RT combined preferentially sensitises PTEN-depleted NSCLC models in vitro and in vivo, with no impact on early inflammatory response indicative of RP. These findings provide a rationale for evaluating ATR inhibition in combination with RT in NSCLC patients with PTEN mutations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Aspects of Cancer Radiotherapy)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop