Red Journal
Key Findings from Recent Red Journal Research: Biomarkers
The articles below represent a sample of the latest research published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics related to biomarkers. Visit the Red Journal for additional articles.
Biomarker Expression and Clinical Outcomes in International Study of Chemoradiation and Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based Image-Guided Brachytherapy for Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer: BIOEMBRACE
Chopra et al.BIOEMBRACE was designed to study the impact of biomarkers in addition to clinicopathological factors on disease outcomes in patients treated with chemoradiation and MRI-guided brachytherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer in the EMBRACE study. P16 negative status and tumor necrosis on MRI are independently associated with poor response to chemoradiation, whereas PD-L1 > 1% and L1CAM ≥ 50% have an independent impact on local and pelvic control, suggesting an impact of biomarker expression on outcomes. For further information on this article, please see the associated video and podcast.
ClonoScreen3D – A Novel 3-Dimensional Clonogenic Screening Platform for Identification of Radiosensitizers for Glioblastoma
Jackson et al.Patient-derived GBM cell lines were optimized for inclusion in a 96-well plate 3-D clonogenic screening platform, ClonoScreen3D. Radiation responses of GBM cells in this system were highly reproducible and comparable to those observed in low-throughout 3-D assays. The screen methodology provided quantification of candidate drug single agent activity (half maximal effective concentration or EC50) and the interaction between drug and radiation (radiation interaction ratio). The ClonoScreen3D platform was demonstrated to be a robust method to screen for single agent and radiation-drug combination activity.
Prostate-Specific Antigen and Prostate Cancer in Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy for Transgender or Nonbinary (TGNB) Individuals
Morgan et al.Gender-affirming hormone therapies are associated with significant decreases in PSA, and TGNB individuals assigned male at birth remain at risk of prostate cancer. Future work should establish if a lower threshold for biopsy should be used in these contexts and if the decreased incidence is a result of ascertainment bias or hormone therapy resulting in a true decrease in the incidence of prostate cancer.
Myoferlin: A Potential Marker of Response to Radiation Therapy and Survival in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer
Fowler et al.Patients with locally advanced rectal cancer often require neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy to downstage the disease, but the response is variable with no predictive biomarkers. High expression of myoferlin in rectal cancer is associated with poor response to neoadjuvant therapy and worse long-term survival. The manipulation of myoferlin led to increased radiosensitivity in vitro. This suggests that myoferlin could be targeted to enhance the sensitivity of patients with rectal cancer to radiation therapy, and further work is required.
Information in this section has been adapted from abstracts of the cited articles.
Red Journal Podcast
In the January 1 podcast, Editor-in-Chief Sue Yom, MD, PhD, FASTRO, and Associate Editor Neil Taunk, MD, co-host a discussion on "Biomarker expression and impact on clinical outcomes in an international study of chemoradiation and MRI-based image-guided brachytherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer: BIOEMBRACE," with guests Supriya Chopra, MD, Professor at Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai, India, and Remi Nout, MD, PhD, Professor and Head of the Department of Radiotherapy of the Erasmus Medical Center, University Medical Center, in Rotterdam, Netherlands, who were the first and last authors and both principal investigators of the BIOEMBRACE study. Listen to this podcast and read the article.
