Tumor hypoxia

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Tumor hypoxia is the situation where tumor cells have been deprived of oxygen. Hypoxic tumor cells usually resist to radiotherapy and chemotherapy ^[1] as they can be made more susceptible to treatment by increasing the amount of oxygen in them, but bioreductive prodrugs play a significant part in dealing with this kind of cells: they can kill the oxygen-deficient tumor cells selectively as hypoxic cytotoxins. Study of tumors in such conditions was pioneered by Dr L. H. Gray.

It can also be a result of the high degree of cell proliferation undergone in tumor tissue, causing a higher cell density, and thus taxing the local oxygen supply.