We regret that we cannot respond to personal or general health questions. If information presented here seems pertinent to your situation, please seek help from a qualified health care professional near you. They are identifying the steps that lead to the successful repair of major breaks in the DNA both for the knowledge and because when it doesn t happen, cancer might. The body s DNA is constantly bombarded by radiation from the environment, such as the sun, which causes single strands of the double-stranded DNA to break. But more powerful ionizing radiation, such as that received by cancer patients or generated by nuclear power and defense facilities, can literally cut DNA in half.
Scientists call that repair system the guardian of the genome.
When it s a cancer cell that s repaired, it s an unfortunate scenario that reduces the effectiveness of radiation therapy. When it s a healthy cell falling victim to radiation, it s a good thing, as long as the repair is a good one. Otherwise, radiation designed to destroy cancer may end up contributing to it. So if you cannot protect your genome any more, eventually you are going to have these multiple changes that lead to cancer. When one-strand DNA breakage occurs, such as that from ultraviolet radiation, the remaining strand is used as a template for repairing the damaged strand, Dr. Dynan said.