title: The influence of chronic anaemia on the radiosensitivity of two mouse tumours.
abstract: There is clear clinical evidence that tumours in anaemic patients are difficult to control with radiotherapy. We have studied the radiosensitivity of two transplantable mouse tumours, the SCCVII/St carcinoma and the KHT sarcoma in hosts made anaemic either with an iron poor diet or as a result of tumour growth. The haemoglobin level and haematocrits of mice on the low iron diet fell to about 60% of normal within 11 weeks. The number of clonogenic cells after a single X-ray dose of 20 Gy was slightly lower (P less than 0.05) in the anaemic animals (2.3 X 10(4) g-1) than in controls (5.2 X 10(4) g-1) though there was no significant difference in the surviving fractions. Mice bearing KHT tumours became anaemic with haematocrits falling to 65% of normal as their tumours grew from 300-1200 mg. A second 'test' tumour was implanted one week after the first 'anaemia-inducing' tumour so that estimates of radiosensitivity could all be carried out on tumours within the same size range (150-300 mg). Radiosensitivity was significantly greater in the most anaemic hosts with 2.2 X 10(4) cells g-1 surviving a dose of 20 Gy compared with 6.7 x 10(4) g-1 in controls (P less than 0.01). These results are consistent with most published data for mouse tumours though not for many human tumours.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine, California 94303.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Koong
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Hirst
mesh_terms: D000740:Anemia / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000747:Anemia, Hypochromic / Q000503:physiopathology; D000818:Animals; D015687:Cell Hypoxia; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006400:Hematocrit; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D011836:Radiation Tolerance / Q000502:physiology*; D012513:Sarcoma, Experimental / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins