Ionizing radiation may induce tumors partly through the alteration or regulation of mismatch repair genes
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Sun, Mingzhu
Monahan, Kevin
Moquet, Jayne
Barnard, Stephen
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Ionizing radiation is mutagenic and carcinogenic, and it is reported to induce primary and secondary tumors with intestinal tumors being one of the most commonly observed. However, the pathological and molecular mechanism(s) underlying the radiation-associated tumorigenesis remain unclear. A link between radiation and somatic tumorigenesis partly through genetic, epigenetic alteration and/or regulation of mismatch repair (MMR) genes has been hypothesized for the first time within this review. Clinical observations and experimental findings provide significant support for this association including MMR mutations as well as altered MMR RNA and protein expressions that occurred post-exposure, although existing evidence in published literature is sparse in this niche area. Some speculative mechanisms are suggested with this review to inform future research. Further studies are needed to understand the roles of the MMR system in response to radiation and to test this possible connection which could potentially provide useful and urgently needed information for clinical guidance.
Date Issued
2025-02-02
Date Acceptance
2025-02-03
Citation
Cancers, 2025, 17 (4)
ISSN
2072-6694
Publisher
MDPI AG
Journal / Book Title
Cancers
Volume
17
Issue
4
Copyright Statement
© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/40002162
PII: cancers17040564
Subjects
Lynch syndrome
ionizing radiation
mismatch repair (MMR)
primary/secondary tumorigenesis
radiation effects
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
Switzerland
Article Number
564
Date Publish Online
2025-02-07