Increasing Therapeutic Gain and Controlling Radiation-Induced Injuries with Asian Botanicals and Acupuncture

Therapeutic gain by radiotherapy can be achieved through improved targeting, selectively sensitizing malignant cells, or protecting normal tissue. The majority of synthetic chemical radiation sensitizers and normal tissue protectors have proved too toxic at effective clinical doses. Asian botanicals (both from Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine) are being evaluated for their ability to improve therapeutic gain through various avenues that include the modulation of reactive oxygen species, increase in immunity, anti-inflammation, and anti-angiogenesis, as well as other molecular avenues. An increase in the efficacy of radiotherapy on tumour tissue allows a reduction in the applied dose to normal tissues. In addition, some botanicals can increase normal tissue repair following radiation therapy, and selective acupuncture may help in normal tissue cell repopulation.