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Abstract

Breast cancer is a widely distributed type of cancer in women worldwide, and tumor relapse is the major cause of breast cancer death. In breast cancers, the acquisition of metastatic ability, which is responsible for tumor relapse and poor clinical outcomes, has been linked to the acquisition of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) program and self-renewal traits (CSCs) via various signaling pathways. These phenomena confer resistance during current therapies, thus creating a major hurdle in radiotherapy/chemotherapy. The role of very low doses of radiation (LDR) in the context of EMT has not yet to be thoroughly explored. Here, we report that a 0.1 Gy radiation dose reduces cancer progression by deactivating the JAK1/STAT3 pathway. Furthermore, LDR exposure also reduces sphere formation and inhibits the self-renewal ability of breast cancer cells, resulting in an attenuated CD44+/CD24- population. Additionally, in vivo findings support our data, providing evidence that LDR is a promising option for future treatment strategies to prevent cancer metastasis in breast cancer cases.

Author information

Kaushik N1, Kim MJ2, Kim RK3, Kumar Kaushik N4, Seong KM2, Nam SY5, Lee SJ1.​

1Department of Life Science, Research Institute for Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea.

2Laboratory of Radiation Exposure and Therapeutics, National Radiation Emergency Medical Center, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul, Korea.

3The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, So Campus Research Bldg 1 (SCR2.2208), 1515 Holcombe Blvd. Unit 0903, Houston, TX 77030, USA.

4Plasma Bioscience Research Center, Department of Electrical and Biological Physics, Kwangwoon University, Seoul, 139-701, Republic of Korea.

5Radiation Health Institute, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. Ltd, Seoul, Korea.