Ionizing radiation found to soften tumor cell microenvironment

(American Institute of Physics) Researchers from Vanderbilt aim to unlock how irradiation -- part of radiation therapy in cancer treatment -- might alter the mechanical properties of the microenvironment. The team demonstrated that ionizing radiation can reduce the stiffness of both the extracellular matrix of an extracted tumor and an isolated matrix of collagen fibers. Appearing this week in APL Bioengineering, the results pave the way for irradiation to be used to create matrices with tailored properties.
Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: news