New Drug Protects Against Radiation Damage

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The idea of radiation therapy without cell damage is intriguing, said Dr. Theodore Lawrence, chairman of radiation oncology at the University of Michigan.

"But I would have a little bit of caution before jumping to the conclusion that this would be useful in humans," Lawrence said. Other efforts to develop radiation-protective treatments have run up against the fact that "it is difficult to find something that won't protect at least some cancer cells," he said.

Any drug treatment that allows some cancer cells to survive radiation bombardment falls short of complete protection, Lawrence added.

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"Will it really protect in all people?" he asked. "The drug stimulates cells in the body to make substances that give protection. Whether they all get made in people exactly as in animals needs to be tested. One would want to see a lot more information in animal systems and adults to be sure that we don't protect some tumor cells in humans."

Yet this line of research "looks like it's worth exploring," Lawrence said.

More information

You can learn about radiation therapy and its side effects from the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

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