{"entity":{"id":"radiosensitisers","kind":"technology","name":"Radiosensitisers","aka":[],"tldr":"Drugs given with radiotherapy to make tumour cells easier to kill: cisplatin in cervical and head and neck cancer, temozolomide in glioblastoma, nimorazole for hypoxic tumours, and a new generation aimed at DNA repair.","summary":"Concurrent chemoradiation is the commonest form of radiosensitisation: cisplatin with radiotherapy improved survival in cervical cancer in 1999 and in head and neck cancer soon after, temozolomide with radiotherapy did the same in glioblastoma, and 5-FU or capecitabine sensitises rectal and anal cancers. Cetuximab was the first targeted radiosensitiser. Hypoxic cell sensitisers such as nimorazole, standard in Danish head and neck practice, mimic oxygen in hypoxic cells. The next wave targets DNA damage repair (ATR, DNA-PK and PARP inhibitors), and hafnium oxide nanoparticles (NBTXR3) and gadolinium agents amplify the physical dose.","status":"established","asOf":"2026-09-16","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiosensitizer"}],"tags":["radiation-wave1"],"related":[],"cancers":["cervical","head-and-neck","glioblastoma","anal","colorectal"],"sections":["radiation"],"technologies":["imrt-igrt","hyperthermia"],"targets":[],"drugs":["cisplatin","temozolomide","cetuximab","capecitabine","fluorouracil"],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":["chemoradiation","tumour-hypoxia"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"notes":[],"principle":"A drug lowers the dose of radiation needed to kill tumour cells, by blocking DNA repair, fixing damage in hypoxic cells, synchronising the cell cycle or increasing local energy deposition, ideally more in tumour than in normal tissue.","strengths":["Improved cure rates in several cancers","Uses existing drugs","Targets tumour-specific repair defects"],"limitations":["More acute toxicity","Little sensitisation gain in some combinations","Normal tissue may be sensitised too"],"since":1970},"route":"/technologies/radiosensitisers/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"anal","kind":"cancer","name":"Anal cancer (squamous cell carcinoma)","route":"/cancers/anal/"},{"id":"cervical","kind":"cancer","name":"Cervical cancer","route":"/cancers/cervical/"},{"id":"colorectal","kind":"cancer","name":"Colorectal cancer","route":"/cancers/colorectal/"},{"id":"glioblastoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Glioma & glioblastoma","route":"/cancers/glioblastoma/"},{"id":"head-and-neck","kind":"cancer","name":"Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma","route":"/cancers/head-and-neck/"},{"id":"muscle-invasive-bladder-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"Muscle-invasive and advanced bladder cancer","route":"/cancers/muscle-invasive-bladder-cancer/"}],"section":[{"id":"radiation","kind":"section","name":"Radiation Therapy","route":"/fronts/radiation/"}],"technology":[{"id":"hyperthermia","kind":"technology","name":"Hyperthermia","route":"/technologies/hyperthermia/"},{"id":"imrt-igrt","kind":"technology","name":"IMRT / IGRT (modern external beam)","route":"/technologies/imrt-igrt/"}],"drug":[{"id":"capecitabine","kind":"drug","name":"Capecitabine","route":"/drugs/capecitabine/"},{"id":"cetuximab","kind":"drug","name":"Cetuximab","route":"/drugs/cetuximab/"},{"id":"cisplatin","kind":"drug","name":"Cisplatin","route":"/drugs/cisplatin/"},{"id":"fluorouracil","kind":"drug","name":"Fluorouracil (5-FU)","route":"/drugs/fluorouracil/"},{"id":"nbtxr3","kind":"drug","name":"NBTXR3 (hafnium oxide nanoparticles)","route":"/drugs/nbtxr3/"},{"id":"nimorazole","kind":"drug","name":"Nimorazole","route":"/drugs/nimorazole/"},{"id":"temozolomide","kind":"drug","name":"Temozolomide","route":"/drugs/temozolomide/"}],"term":[{"id":"chemoradiation","kind":"term","name":"Chemoradiation (chemoradiotherapy, CRT)","route":"/terms/chemoradiation/"},{"id":"tumour-hypoxia","kind":"term","name":"Tumour hypoxia","route":"/terms/tumour-hypoxia/"}],"trial":[{"id":"act-ii","kind":"trial","name":"ACT II","route":"/trials/act-ii/"},{"id":"bonner-cetuximab-rt","kind":"trial","name":"Bonner trial (cetuximab plus radiotherapy)","route":"/trials/bonner-cetuximab-rt/"},{"id":"cross-trial","kind":"trial","name":"CROSS","route":"/trials/cross-trial/"},{"id":"dahanca-5","kind":"trial","name":"DAHANCA 5","route":"/trials/dahanca-5/"},{"id":"rtog-0617","kind":"trial","name":"RTOG 0617","route":"/trials/rtog-0617/"},{"id":"rtog-91-11","kind":"trial","name":"RTOG 91-11","route":"/trials/rtog-91-11/"}],"company":[{"id":"nanobiotix","kind":"company","name":"Nanobiotix","route":"/companies/nanobiotix/"}]}}