Cancer Treatments Induce Genetic Mutations in Healthy Cells, Impacting Efficacy and Side Effects
Recent studies have revealed that various cancer treatments, including chemoradiotherapy and combination chemotherapy, can significantly alter the genetic landscape of normal, healthy tissue. Researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, University of Cambridge, and University College London found that chemoradiotherapy increases mutations in vital tumor suppressor genes like TP53 and PPM1D in human patients. Similarly, combination chemotherapy leads to an increase in normal cells carrying mutations associated with resistance to drugs such as 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). These findings, published in Nature Genetics, indicate that cancer treatments can dramatically change the mutational landscape of normal epithelium within weeks, a process that typically takes decades. The study analyzed normal esophagus tissue from esophageal cancer patients who received different treatments, highlighting how drugs can create a selective pressure that favors the expansion of certain mutant cell clones. This research suggests th...
