The combined effect of neutron irradiation and temozolomide on glioblastoma cell lines with different MGMT and P53 status.

Temozolomide (TMZ) is a DNA-alkylating agent used for chemo-radiotherapy of glioblastoma, which is also a target cancer for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). Although the DNA-repair enzyme O-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) and the tumor suppressor p53 are mutated in some glioblastoma cells, it remains unknown whether these mutations affect sensitivity to neutron irradiation. We examined sensitivity to neutron irradiation and TMZ in two glioblastoma cell lines: T98G, which is p53-mutant with high levels of MGMT activity; and A172, which is p53-wild-type and has low MGMT activity.