radiosensitizer
Sign in to saveAlso known as Radiosensitizing Drugs, Radiation-Sensitizing Drugs, Radiation Sensitizing Agents, Radiosensitizing Agents, Agents, Radiation-Sensitizing, Radiation Sensitizers
thumb|Cisplatin, a platinum-based chemotherapeutic and radio sensitizer A radiosensitizer is an agent that makes tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. It is sometimes also known as a radiation sensitizer or radio-enhancer.
~4 min read
Encyclopedic overview
8 sectionsContents
- Mechanism of action
- DNA Damage Enhancement
- Cell Cycle Interference
- Hypoxia Modification
- Limitations
- Drug development
- References
- External links
thumb|Cisplatin, a platinum-based chemotherapeutic and radio sensitizer A radiosensitizer is an agent that makes tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. It is sometimes also known as a radiation sensitizer or radio-enhancer.
== Mechanism of action == Conventional chemotherapeutics are currently being used in conjunction with radiation therapy to increase its effectiveness. Examples include the fluoropyrimidines, gemcitabine and platinum analogs; fluoropyrimidines increase sensitivity by dysregulating S-phase cell cycle checkpoints in tumor cells. Gemcitabine progresses through a similar mechanism, causing cells in the S-phase to disrepair DNA damage caused by the radiation. Platinum analogs such as cisplatin inhibit DNA repair by cross linking strands, and so aggravate the effects of DNA damage induced by radiation. Mechanisms of Action Radiosensitizers enhance the effects of radiation therapy through various mechanisms, broadly classified as:
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “radiosensitizer” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.