In a preclinical study published in Cancer Research, researchers from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have identified one way that lung cancer becomes resistant to radiation therapy and then developed a strategy to overcome this challenge. Led by Boyi Gan, Ph.D., professor of Experimental Radiation Oncology, researchers discovered that the mitochondrial enzyme dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) can protect cancer cells from ferroptosis—an iron-dependent form of cell death triggered by radiation—thereby contributing to radiation therapy resistance in lung cancer.
This article was originally published on MedicalXpress.com
