Antioxidative Stress: Inhibiting Reactive Oxygen Species Production as a Cause of Radioresistance and Chemoresistance.
OXIDATIVE MEDICINE AND CELLULAR LONGEVITY 2021;
2021:6620306. [PMID:
33628367 PMCID:
PMC7884184 DOI:
10.1155/2021/6620306]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Revised: 01/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Radiotherapy and chemotherapy are the most effective nonsurgical treatments for cancer treatment. They usually induce regulated cell death by increasing the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in tumour cells. However, as intracellular ROS concentration increases, many antioxidant pathways are concurrently upregulated by cancer cells to inhibit ROS production, ultimately leading to drug resistance. Understanding the mechanism of antioxidant stress in tumour cells provides a new research direction for overcoming therapeutic resistance. In this review, we address (1) how radiotherapy and chemotherapy kill tumour cells by increasing the level of ROS, (2) the mechanism by which ROS activate antioxidant pathways and the subsequent cellular mitigation of ROS in radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments, and (3) the potential research direction for targeted treatment to overcome therapeutic resistance.
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