Cancer Repair Genes Influence Success of Radiotherapy

(University of Bern, August 25, 2020)

Although radiotherapy, which aims to stop tumor growth by destroying the DNA of cancer cells, is widely regarded as a cornerstone of today’s cancer treatment, it remains unclear why certain patients respond better to this therapy than others. However, by using genetic screening to investigate the cancer cells' self-repair, a team led by University of Bern Professor Sven Rottenberg, along with colleagues from the Netherlands Cancer Institute, recently discovered that if certain repair genes are missing in cancer cells, they are unable to repair themselves after irradiation, thereby increasing the chances of a successful radiotherapy. According to Rottenberg, these findings therefore demonstrate the “importance of personalized cancer therapy that takes the genetic predisposition of the people affected into account."