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Radiation treatment and cancer stem cells

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Abstract

Radiotherapy is a standard treatment for many cancers and is frequently used as primary or adjuvant therapy, often in combination with surgery or chemotherapy or both. However, locoregional recurrence or metastatic spread still occurs in a high proportion of patients after radiotherapy. In this regard, emerging evidences suggest that sublethal radiation paradoxically promotes expansion of cancer stem cell population that is highly tumorigenic and is reminiscent of non-neoplasm stem cells. In this review, we discussed recent findings that demonstrate the increase in cancer stem cells after irradiation, and the possible cellular mechanisms with a perspective of tumor microenvironment. A further understating on the mechanistic mechanisms underlying radiation-enhanced malignant phenotypes might increase the efficacy of radiotherapy for cancer treatment.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) and Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning, Korean government, through its National Nuclear Technology Program (2012M2A2A7035878).

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  1. Laboratory of Molecular Biochemistry, Department of Life Science, Hanyang University, 17 Haengdang-Dong, Seongdong-Ku, Seoul, 133-791, Korea

    Yongjoon Suh & Su-Jae Lee

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  1. Yongjoon Suh
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  2. Su-Jae Lee
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Correspondence to Su-Jae Lee.

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Suh, Y., Lee, SJ. Radiation treatment and cancer stem cells. Arch. Pharm. Res. 38, 408–413 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12272-015-0563-1

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