[Synergistic killing effect of hyperthermia and radiation on human cecum adenocarcinoma cell line in vitro].

Synergistic killing effect of hyperthermia and radiation on human cecum adenocarcinoma cell line (HCe-8693) was studied as to cell growth curve, mitotic index, concentrations of potassium and beta 2-microglobulin, CEA content and cell morphology under light and electron microscopes. The cultured cells were randomly divided into 5 groups: control (C), radiation alone (R), hyperthermia alone (H), radiation followed by hyperthermia (RH), hyperthermia followed by radiation (HR). The preliminary results showed that (1) the killing effect of radiation alone was mild, (2) hyperthermia alone had more marked killing effect than radiation alone, but viable HCe-8693 cells were still able to grow, (3) combination of hyperthermia and radiation showed synergistic effect which was more pronounced in RH than HR.