出典:Wikipedia
出典:『Wikipedia』 (2011/05/05 11:43 UTC 版)
Tumor hypoxia is the situation where tumor cells have been deprived of oxygen. As a tumor grows, it rapidly outgrows its blood supply, leaving portions of the tumor with regions where the oxygen concentration is significantly lower than in healthy tissues. Hypoxic tumor cells are usually resistant to radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but they can be made more susceptible to treatment by increasing the amount of oxygen in them. Bioreductive prodrugs also play a significant part in dealing with these kinds of cells: they can kill the oxygen-deficient tumor cells selectively as hypoxic cytotoxins. The study of tumors in such conditions was pioneered by Dr L. H. Gray.