What characteristic of cancer cells makes them more susceptible to radiation treatment?

Cancer cells are more susceptible to radiation treatment primarily because they divide rapidly and often have defective DNA repair mechanisms. Rapidly dividing cells are in a state of constant growth and proliferation, which makes them more vulnerable to the damaging effects of radiation.

Radiation works by causing breaks in the DNA strands, and cancer cells that are defective in their DNA repair mechanisms are less capable of correcting this damage. This inability to effectively repair DNA leads to accumulation of genetic abnormalities and ultimately results in cell death. In contrast, normal cells typically have more robust DNA repair systems, allowing them to withstand the damage more effectively during their division processes.

Therefore, the characteristic of rapid division alongside defective DNA repair makes cancer cells particularly sensitive to radiation therapy, as this treatment aims to exploit these weaknesses to kill cancer cells while sparing most normal cells.