Lung Cancer Cell Line Screen Links Fanconi Anemia/BRCA Pathway Defects to Increased Relative Biological Effectiveness of Proton Radiation

Our cell line screen has revealed variations in proton RBE that are partly due to FA/BRCA pathway defects, suggesting that the use of a generic RBE for cancers should be revisited. We propose that functional biomarkers, such as size of residual 53BP1 foci, may be used to identify cancers with increased sensitivity to proton radiation.