Radiation therapy-related adverse effects (rtAEs) is becoming a larger physical and psychosocial burden on head and neck cancer patients because technological advancements have improved 5-year survival rates. Radiation doses are limited by the radiosensitivity of the few, despite knowledge that most normal tissue reactions are due to genetics. Radiogenomics aims to identify genes responsible for radiosensitivity, allowing for personalized treatments to reduce incidence rates of rtAEs. Four studies were reviewed and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in XRCC1, NBN, CAT, BRCA2, ERBB3, TP53, NOTCH1 and CDKN2A were shown to have statistically significant effects on incidence rates of oral mucositis. BRCA2 was shown to have a cumulative effect on other SNPs, confirming radiosensitivity is a complex, polygenic trait. Radiogenomics has expanded into the use of genome-wide association studies reviewing up to 1,000,000 SNPs in a single study and compiled into a universal database. As genetic analysis continues to become more affordable and quicker, more data will be collected, and risk models will be developed to predict individual radiosensitivity and create personalized radiotherapy treatments.

Cohen would like to thank their faculty sponsor, Kathy Kienstra, for their support of this project.