title: Dose-rate dependence of heat radiosensitization.
abstract: The dose rate dependence of heat radiosensitization was studied using rat astrocytoma cells in culture and a clinically relevant protocol of heat dose and heat radiation sequence. Cells were treated with a minimally toxic heat dose of 43 degrees C for 30 minutes, after which they were irradiated with varying doses of radiation at dose rates ranging from 0.567 to 300 cGy/min. This heat dose substantially reduced the extrapolation number (n), but had little effect on Do of the radiation survival curve at dose rates of 50 cGy/min or greater. At dose rates less than 10 cGy/min, 43 degrees C for 30 min had little effect on n and only for the lowest dose rate studied (0.567 cGy/min) was there a significant reduction in Do (60%). The thermal enhancement ratio did not vary inversely with radiation dose rate over the dose rate range studied but, instead, was maximal at the two dose rate extremes (0.567 and 300 cGy/min). These data demonstrate that a clinically relevant heat dose enhances very low dose rate, as well as high dose rate, ionizing radiation, but suggest that little benefit is to be gained from using dose rates intermediate between conventional radiotherapeutic high dose rates or dose rates representative of interstitial implants.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001254:Astrocytoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced; D011836:Radiation Tolerance; D051381:Rats; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors