Radiation harms blood vessels before gut
By John Travis
When physicians aim radiation at a tumor in the pancreas or irradiate the entire body of someone with leukemia, the therapy can devastate the stomach and abdomen. Nausea, diarrhea, infections, and even death may result.
These responses occur because the radiation wipes out the linings of the stomach and intestines. But how? Most investigators argue that radiation directly kills epithelial stem cells, which normally produce the cellular linings. Other scientists challenge that view, contending that the radiation destroys blood vessels that sustain the stem cells, indirectly affecting the lining.