The Radiation Metabolic Signature of Patient Undergoing Radiotherapy. A Pilot Study

Background

Humans are exposed to ionizing radiation from several sources. Gamma-radiation exposure induces thereby both short- and long-term adverse effects. The radiation injuries to be expected in humans in the acute stage (days to some weeks after radiation exposure) correlate with the radiation dose that the individual has received. With very high doses gastrointestinal syndrome leads to death within a few days. The survival of the individual in the acute stage is therefore dramatically dependent on the rapid application of suitable therapies. It is decisive here to identify in the shortest possible time those persons who have been exposed to a critical radiation dose and to estimate the dose received in order to apply an adequate therapy. There are no satisfying test methods available today, which would enable the mass screening for radiation injury.

Furthermore to identify changes in the local or systemic human metabolic fingerprint, which are useful for the prediction of the individual sensitivity of patients to radiotherapy and / or lead to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in radiotherapy.

Objective

Primary: The primary endpoint is to affirm the results from the animal model in radiation metabolomics in human radiotherapy treatment.