Glioblastoma is the most frequent and deadliest form of brain cancer and represents a major health problem affecting many young children. The median overall survival is limited to 12 - 18 months following diagnosis despite continuous improvements in treatment. Radiation therapy plays a crucial role in glioma treatment, however, glioma cells survive the treatment, one underlying reason being the presence of cancer stem cells that have high DNA repair capacity. One promising strategy to improve treatment of this aggressive radioresistant tumor is therefore to combine radiotherapy with inhibitors of DNA repair.
DORADIOS project aims to develop new efficient strategies for glioma radiosensitization. We aim at identifying radiation-drug combinations inhibiting DNA repair and exploring how such treatment combinations work in cells irradiated with high-LET versus low-LET radiotherapy (X-ray, protons and carbon-ions). We also aim at identifying new promising biomarkers signatures that may support the development of personalized treatment of patients. These biomarkers will be generated to match glioblastoma specific molecular signature for radiosensitivity.