{"entity":{"id":"radioprotectors","kind":"technology","name":"Radioprotectors and normal-tissue sparing drugs","aka":[],"tldr":"Drugs that shield healthy tissue from radiation: amifostine to protect salivary glands, palifermin for mouth ulcers, and newer agents aimed at the gut, lung and skin.","summary":"Amifostine, a thiol prodrug, was approved to reduce dry mouth after head and neck radiotherapy and kidney damage from cisplatin, but nausea, low blood pressure and worries about tumour protection limited its use; intensity-modulated radiotherapy achieved the same salivary sparing by physics. Palifermin, a keratinocyte growth factor, reduces severe mucositis after total body irradiation. Research continues on agents that protect the gut and lung, on mitigators given after exposure (relevant to radiation accidents as well as therapy), and on drugs that separate tumour and normal tissue response such as avasopasem.","status":"established","asOf":"2026-09-16","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioprotector"}],"tags":["radiation-wave1"],"related":[],"cancers":["head-and-neck"],"sections":["radiation"],"technologies":["imrt-igrt"],"targets":[],"drugs":["amifostine"],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":["radiation-dermatitis","radiation-pneumonitis"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"notes":[],"principle":"Free-radical scavenging, growth factor support or selective protection of normal cells reduces radiation injury without shielding the tumour.","strengths":["Reduces specific toxicities","Complements physical sparing","Mitigators can be given after exposure"],"limitations":["Side effects of the protector itself","Possible tumour protection","Few agents have shown clear clinical benefit"],"since":1995},"route":"/technologies/radioprotectors/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"head-and-neck","kind":"cancer","name":"Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma","route":"/cancers/head-and-neck/"}],"section":[{"id":"radiation","kind":"section","name":"Radiation Therapy","route":"/fronts/radiation/"}],"technology":[{"id":"imrt-igrt","kind":"technology","name":"IMRT / IGRT (modern external beam)","route":"/technologies/imrt-igrt/"}],"drug":[{"id":"amifostine","kind":"drug","name":"Amifostine","route":"/drugs/amifostine/"},{"id":"avasopasem-manganese","kind":"drug","name":"Avasopasem manganese","route":"/drugs/avasopasem-manganese/"},{"id":"pilocarpine","kind":"drug","name":"Pilocarpine","route":"/drugs/pilocarpine/"}],"term":[{"id":"radiation-dermatitis","kind":"term","name":"Radiation dermatitis (skin reaction)","route":"/terms/radiation-dermatitis/"},{"id":"radiation-pneumonitis","kind":"term","name":"Radiation pneumonitis and lung fibrosis","route":"/terms/radiation-pneumonitis/"}]}}