DMAPT: A promising new radioprotector

High dose radiotherapy is widely used to kill tumour cells. Side-scatter radiation from radiotherapy damages normal tissues leading to short and/or long-term morbidity, limiting the radiation doses that can be applied to achieve complete tumour kill. In image-guided radiotherapy, the tumour also receives low image doses of radiation prior to the high radiotherapy doses. Radioprotectors are drugs that are administered prior to radiation exposure in order to protect normal tissues from the damage caused by the radiation.