Influence of age on the relative biological effectiveness of carbon ion radiation for induction of rat mammary carcinoma.

PURPOSE

The risk of developing secondary cancer after radiotherapy, especially after treatment of childhood cancers, remains a matter of concern. The high biological effects of carbon-ion radiation have enabled powerful radiotherapy, yet the approach is commonly restricted to the treatment of adults. Susceptibility of the fetus to particle radiation-induced cancer is also unclear. The present study is aimed to investigate the effect of carbon-ion irradiation in childhood on breast carcinogenesis.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

We irradiated female Sprague-Dawley rats of various ages (embryonic days 3, 13, and 17 and 1, 3, 7, and 15 weeks after birth) with (137)Cs γ rays or a 290-MeV/u monoenergetic carbonion beam (linear energy transfer, 13 keV/μm). All animals were screened weekly for mammary carcinoma by palpation until they were 90 weeks old.

RESULTS

Irradiation of fetal and mature (15-week-old) rats with either radiation source at a dose of 0.2 or 1 Gy did not substantially increase the hazard ratio compared with the nonirradiated group. Dose responses (0.2-2.0 Gy) to γ rays were similar among the groups of rats irradiated 1, 3, and 7 weeks after birth. The effect of carbon ions increased along with the age at the time of irradiation, indicating relative biological effectiveness values of 0.2 (-0.3, 0.7), 1.3 (1.0, 1.6), and 2.8 (1.8, 3.9) (mean and 95% confidence interval) for animals that were 1, 3, and 7 weeks of age, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings imply that carbonion therapy may be associated with a risk of secondary breast cancer in humans, the extent of which may depend on the age of the patient at the time of irradiation.