Albert Koong
Publication Details
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The influence of chronic anaemia on the radiosensitivity of two mouse tumours.
Br J Cancer. 1991; (4): 499-502
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.
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