title: The intrinsic radiosensitivity of normal and tumour cells.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether in vitro measurements of normal and tumour cell radiosensitivity can be used as prognostic factors in clinical oncology.
  
  
  METHODS
  Stage I-III cervix carcinoma patients were treated with radical radiotherapy with a minimum of 3 years' follow-up. Lymphocyte and tumour radiosensitivities were assayed using, respectively, a limiting dilution and soft agar clonogenic assay to obtain surviving fraction at 2 Gy (SF2). The results were related, in an actuarial analysis, to late morbidity assessed using the Franco Italian glossary.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with radiosensitive lymphocytes had a significantly increased risk of developing late complications (n = 93, p = 0.002). Increasing tumour radiosensitivity was associated with an increased risk of morbidity (n= 113, p=0.032). A significant correlation was found between fibroblast and tumour cell radiosensitivity (r=0.57, p=0.03), but a weak inverse association was found between lymphocyte and tumour cell radiosensitivity (r= -0.32, p=0.03). Patients with radiosensitive lymphocytes and tumour cells had higher levels of late complications than those whose cells were radioresistant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The work described highlights the importance of cellular radiosensitivity as a parameter determining the clinical response to radiotherapy.
authors.affiliation: CRC Sections of Genome Damage and Repair, Paterson Institute for Cancer Research, Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Elyan
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Swindell
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Orton
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Coyle
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Valentine
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Wilks
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Hendry
mesh_terms: D002277:Carcinoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D003114:Colony-Forming Units Assay; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000528:radiation effects*; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000528:radiation effects*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011836:Radiation Tolerance; D016019:Survival Analysis; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy*