title: Stereology techniques have--or should have--a role in preclinical radiation therapy.
abstract: A paper by Kubinova et al. (Radiat. Res. 000, 000-000, 2003) introduced to radiation biology the techniques of stereology required to quantify the dose response of irradiated brain populations. A paper by Mao et al. (Radiat. Res. 000, 000-000, 2003) and earlier papers by Archambeau et al. applied these techniques to quantify the population changes in the vasculature of the retina. This presentation reviews in broad terms the evolution of the need to quantify population and kinetic techniques and how the need has been met. The in vitro and in vivo descriptive and clonogenic techniques used regularly in radiation biology and in clinical therapy will not be replaced by stereology. While stereology is applicable to all tissue, it proves to be an important technique that allows the investigator to quantify cell population parameters in late-responding and non-proliferative populations.
authors.affiliation: Radiation Biology Program, Department of Radiation Medicine, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, California, USA. jarcham@lluci.llu.edu
authors.forename: John O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Archambeau
authors.forename: Xiao W
authors.initials: XW
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Lucie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kubínová
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division / Q000528:radiation effects*; D004260:DNA Repair; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D007700:Kinetics; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013997:Time Factors