Radiotherapy-Induced Telomere Length Dynamics

Project Overview

This project explores how radiotherapy influences telomere length dynamics and oxidative damage repair mechanisms, with implications for radiotherapy response and side effects. By integrating validated telomere length and functional DNA repair assays with clinical outcomes, this study aims to establish telomere dynamics as a biomarker for radiotherapy-induced toxicity.

Objectives

• Evaluate telomere length alterations in patients undergoing radiotherapy.
• Develop predictive models linking telomere dynamics to radiation-induced toxicity.
• Correlate telomere and oxidative stress markers to identify pathways involved in radiotherapy induced telomere changes.

Methodology

This study employs a combination of:

• Telomere length assessment via qPCR, flow-FISH, and computational genomics.
• Oxidative damage measurement using functional repair assays.
• Longitudinal patient cohort analysis integrating repeated measures and clinical data.
• Advanced statistics and machine learning to explore associations between telomere dynamics and radiotherapy outcomes.

Outcomes from This Project

• Conference Presentation:
  • Oral Presentation – Telomere Length Dynamics in a Cohort of Lung Cancer Patients Treated with Radiotherapy at 54th Annual Meeting of the Environmental Mutagenesis & Genomics Society (EMGS), 2023. (Abstract)
• Manuscript in Preparation:
  • Title: Telomere Length Dynamics as a Biomarker of Radiotherapy Sensitivity and Adverse Outcomes in Lung Cancer
  • Target Submission Date: Spring 2025
  • Key Contributions: First study to systematically assess telomere length changes and oxidative repair in radiotherapy lung cancer patients.

Visual Highlights - available soon

Next Steps

• Expanding cohort analysis to validate findings across larger patient populations.
• Exploring clinical applications of telomere integrity as a radiotherapy biomarker.

For further inquiries, feel free to reach out!