Grant: Operating Grant

In the battle against cancer, clinicians are constantly seeking innovative strategies to expand treatment modalities. Among the different strategies to improve therapy, the combination of drugs with radiation has had a strong impact in achieving better tumor treatment. This combination increases the amount of harmful products that can kill cancerous cells. Our group has recently shown that the majority of these products are generated by secondary low electrons, which are produced by the primary radiation as it enters the cancer cells. In other words, we now understand more precisely how radiation destroys those cells. Within our research program, we will apply this new knowledge and comprehension to radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy. We will investigate the damage caused by low energy electrons to vital cellular constituents, when in these latter we incorporate new radiotherapeutic agents or drugs which are presently (or will be) used with radiotherapy. Our results will be applied to the development of improved therapeutic modalities for the treatment of cancer.