A protein marker may show which tumors could respond better to radiation
Original title: Rac1 and CHK1 Converge on Abi-1 to Regulate DNA Repair Dependency and Treatment Response in Human Cancers
How far along is this research?
This is a preprint. Other scientists have not checked it yet, so treat it as an early signal rather than an answer.
The marker was looked at in patient tissue, but the drug tests were done only in the lab and in animals.
The short version
Scientists found a marker that may one day help doctors pick a drug to make radiation work better.
What was studied. Researchers looked at a protein called Abi-1 in tissue from people with glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4, the highest grade. It grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary and head and neck cancer who had radiation. They also tested drugs that block certain proteins in lab cells and in animals.
What they found. People whose tumors had lost a certain chemical tag on Abi-1 tended to do worse after radiation. Tumors fix radiation damage in one of two main ways. Blocking a protein called Rac1 helped radiation work on one type, and blocking a protein called CHK1 helped it work on the other.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Someday, a test of this marker might help doctors choose which added drug could make radiation work better for a certain tumor. This could help match treatment to each person.
What it doesn't mean: This is early research. The drug tests were done only in lab cells and animals, not in people. This is not a treatment you can get now, and it is not a cure. More studies are needed to know if it helps patients.
Source: bioRxiv (preprint), September 18, 2026 · Read the original
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