Oncogenic transformation by charged particles of defined LET.

Neoplastic transformation incidence and cytotoxicity were scored in the C3H/10T1/2 cell system following irradiation with charged particles of defined linear energy transfer (LET) produced at the Radiological Research Accelerator Facility of Columbia University. Cells cultured in monolayers, attached to thin Mylar sheets, were irradiated with accelerated protons, deuterons or helium-3 ions, and the results compared with X-rays. Defined LET values obtained by using the track segment mode, ranged from 10 to 120 keV/microns. For X-rays, and for the charged particles of lower LET, the dose-response curves for cell survival have a marked initial shoulder. With increasing LET, there is a progressive decrease in the size of the shoulder and for the highest LETs, survival curves approximate an exponential function of dose. The transformation incidence, likewise, showed a direct correlation to LET over the dose range examined. The efficiencies of transformation, however, appeared to approach a plateau between 80 and 120 keV/micron. Transformation data were analyzed using a linear-quadratic function of dose for the transformation probability. This latter quantity, when analyzed using microdosimetric consideration, suggests that the target volume for this end point is of the order of micrometer.