[Assessment of the response of human bladder cancer cell lines to radiation using colony formation assay and [3H] thymidine incorporation assay].

The effect of radiation on the human bladder cancer cell lines, KK47 and J82, was studied using colony formation assay and [3H] thymidine incorporation assay. The response to radiation was dose-related for both assays, but the curve for the colony formation assay was steeper than that for [3H] thymidine incorporation assay. However, the steepness of the curve for [3H] thymidine incorporation assay increased to be approximately the same as that for the colony formation assay as the incubation period increased. [3H] Thymidine incorporation assay can provide a rapid assessment of radiation sensitivity comparable to that obtained by the colony formation assay to select a radiosensitive bladder cancer patient for definitive or adjunctive radiotherapy.