Southeast Regional Radiation Medical Center's Lee Eonseok Wins Excellent Poster Award at KSBMB International Conference

Research Achievement: Inhibition of Colorectal Cancer Metastasis Using Radiation-Induced Exosomal miRNAs

Lee Eonseok, a researcher from the Advanced Radiation Oncology Research Team at the Southeast Regional Radiation Medical Center (Director: Jung Seungpil), received the Excellent Poster Award at the 2026 KSBMB International Scientific Conference, which was held at BEXCO in Busan from May 27 to 29.

The KSBMB International Scientific Conference, organized by the Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, is the largest international academic event in the life sciences field in Korea. This year, more than 3,000 domestic and international researchers and experts attended the conference, where over 800 poster presentations were showcased. The Excellent Poster Award is a prestigious honor given to research that demonstrates outstanding academic excellence and significant research contribution, selected through evaluation by experts in biochemistry, molecular biology, and translational medicine.

Researcher Lee Eonseok presented research findings on the topic "Radiation-elicited Vesicle miRNAs Suppress Colorectal Cancer Metastasis through EMT Blockade." The study was overseen by Dr. Kim Jungguk, who served as the corresponding author for the Advanced Radiation Oncology Research Team.

The research team confirmed through both cellular and animal experiments that exosomal miRNAs altered by radiation target key regulators of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), thereby inhibiting the invasion and metastasis of colorectal cancer cells. Additionally, analysis of the GEO public clinical database demonstrated that this mechanism is meaningfully correlated in actual clinical settings.

This study is drawing attention as it presents a new possibility that, beyond the traditional role of radiation therapy in directly killing cancer cells, it can also inhibit cancer metastasis through intercellular signaling via exosomes. The findings are expected to be applied to the development of biomarkers and therapeutic targets for solid tumors, as well as research on NK cell (natural killer cell) activation factors in the future.

In particular, these achievements are meaningful as they result from ongoing collaboration between clinicians and researchers, centered on the MD-PhD colorectal cancer research exchange program involving Han Eoncheol, Head of Colorectal Surgery, Song Inho, Head of Colorectal Surgery, and the Department of Pathology at the Southeast Regional Radiation Medical Center. The research team established a foundation for translational research that can be connected to actual patient treatment through basic research reflecting the needs of clinical practice.

Dr. Kim Jungguk stated, "The close communication between clinical and basic research through the joint research exchange program of physicians and researchers greatly helped in concretizing the research direction," and added, "We will continue to expand translational research that can apply research outcomes to real-world medical practice."

This research was supported by a government-funded project from the Ministry of Science and ICT and was carried out as part of the Southeast Regional Radiation Medical Center's strategic research initiative, the 'Advanced Bio Leading Project for the Development of Radiation- and Cell/Gene Therapy Technologies to Conquer Cancer.'

Researcher Ian Seok Lee from the Yeongnam Regional Radiation Medical Center is receiving the Excellent Poster Award at the KSBMB International Conference and posing for a commemorative photo.

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