Date of Graduation

5-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Biomedical Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

Rajaram, Narasimhan

Abstract

Abstract

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is the sixth most common cancer worldwide. Radiation therapy is one of the most common treatments for HNSCC, however, many patients do not respond to radiation therapy. Currently, it takes about a month for clinicians to definitively determine whether a tumor is responsive to radiation therapy. Current studies have identified that the prevention of mitochondrial oxidative stress caused by reactive oxygen species can prevent DNA damage and lead to a decrease in apoptosis in radiation resistant cells Measuring the oxygen consumption rate through Seahorse metabolic assays allows us to quantify basal respiration, maximal respiration, and spare respiratory capacity in order to glean more information about radiation resistance. Radiation resistant cell lines have demonstrated higher spare respiratory capacity percentages and lower oxygen consumption rates when compared to radiation sensitive cell lines. This study demonstrates the characterization of radiation resistance that could be used in the clinic to determine if a patient’s tumor is responsive to radiation therapy much sooner than current methodologies.

Keywords

Radiation resistance, radiation therapy, oxygen consumption

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