Researchers from the Department of Radiation Oncology and the Milton and Caroll Petrie Department of Urology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found a clue to understanding why some women with breast cancer who are treated with radiation therapy experience certain side effects from the treatment.

Their findings were presented at the 46th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) in Atlanta, Georgia.

The study, led by Barry Rosenstein, PhD, Director of Radiation Biology Program and Professor of Radiation Oncology, found a specific genetic alteration linked to related side effects in women treated for breast cancer with radiotherapy.

The discovery of this genetic alteration may prove useful in identify genetic predictors associated with adverse radiotherapy response and point to the possibility of creating radiotherapy regimens specifically tailored for individual breast cancer patients.

SOURCES:
46th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO), October 3-7, 2004, Atlanta, Georgia.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine (http://www.mssm.edu)