A UBC Okanagan researcher has determined that genes on a specific chromosome may be the answer as to why thoracic radiotherapy leads to a lung injury in some lung cancer patients.
Christina Haston, an associate professor of medical physics, recently published a study examining how Chromosome 6 can contribute to radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Her study finds that genetic differences can determine whether or not this lung injury follows radiotherapy in an experimental system, according to UBCO in a news release.
“Currently, 50 per cent of cancer patients in Canada receive radiation therapy as part of their treatment course,” she said. “In addition to effects on the tumour, up to 30 per cent of these patients develop side effects to this treatment, or injuries to non-tumour tissue.”
