Effect of ionizing radiation on the physical biology of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells.

ABSTRACT: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth leading cause of cancer worldwide. Although there are numerous treatment options for HNSCC, such as surgery, cytotoxic chemotherapy, molecularly targeted systemic therapeutics, and radiotherapy, overall survival has not significantly improved in the last 50 years. This suggests a need for a better understanding of how these cancer cells respond to current treatments in order to improve treatment paradigms. Ionizing radiation (IR) promotes cancer cell death through the creation of cytotoxic DNA lesions, including single strand breaks, base damage, crosslinks, and double strand breaks (DSBs). As unrepaired DSBs are the most cytotoxic DNA lesion, defining the downstream cellular responses to DSBs are critical for understanding the mec

SUBMITTER: Baker-Groberg SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4582690 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature