Progress in the mechanism of radiation-induced lung injury

Radiation therapy is widely used to treat various thoracic tumors.However,X-rays inevitably cause damage to normal lung tissues while killing tumor cells,leading to the occurrence of radiation-induced lung injury(RILI).Recent data showed that lung cancer has the highest incidence of RILI(5-25%),followed by mediastinal lymphoma(5-10%),and breast cancer(1-5%).®With the progress in research,our understanding of the mechanism of RILI has changed from the traditional hypothesis of“target cell death”to“a continuous process involving multiple cells,”which is dynamic and evolving[Figure 1],In the present review,we summarize the current knowledge of RILI,and discuss the potential limitations of combined radio-immunotherapy.