p53 gene determines radiation efficacy:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The status of an individual's p53 gene product may have a bearing on how effective radiation is for treating some prostate cancer patients, say US researchers. Under normal conditions, the natural tumour-killing effects of the p53 gene product can be activated or enhanced by radiation therapy. An abnormal or mutated gene, however, renders it unable to suppress tumours or facilitate the killing of tumour cells by radiation, researchers from the University of Winconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center, report in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics (July).