Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Jan:169:103566.
doi: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2021.103566. Epub 2021 Dec 7.

Radiotherapy and radiosensitization in breast cancer: Molecular targets and clinical applications

Affiliations
Review

Radiotherapy and radiosensitization in breast cancer: Molecular targets and clinical applications

Vasudeva Bhat et al. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2022 Jan.

Abstract

Relatively poor survival outcomes are observed in advanced or metastatic breast cancer, where local control of the primary or metastatic disease may be achieved by surgical resection, local ablative and radiation therapies. Radioresistance, poses a major challenge in achieving durable oncologic outcomes, mandating development of novel management strategies. Although multimodality approaches that combine radiotherapy with chemotherapy, or systemic agents, are utilized for radiosensitization and treatment of various malignancies, this approach has not yet found its clinical application in breast cancer. Some agents for breast cancer treatment can serve as radiosensitizers, creating an opportunity to enhance effects of radiation while providing systemic disease control. Hence, combination of radiotherapy with radiosensitizing agents have the potential to improve oncologic outcomes in advanced or metastatic breast cancer. This review discusses molecular targets for radiosensitization and novel systemic agents that have potential for clinical use as radiosensitizers in breast cancer.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Chemotherapy; Combination therapy; Radioresistance; Radiosensitizers; Radiotherapy.

PubMed Disclaimer

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources