The radiosensitivity of human neuroblastoma cells estimated from regrowth curves of multicellular tumour spheroids.

Multicellular tumour spheroids may provide a suitable in-vitro model for micrometastases in vivo. In this paper, the results are reported of experimental studies on the radiation response of two lines of spheroids derived from human neuroblastoma. Spheroids of approximately 200-250 microM mean diameter were exposed to graded doses of X rays (50-350 cGy) and, following a static or regression phase, regrew at rates which approximated those of unirradiated spheroids. Clonogenic surviving fraction was estimated, at each dose level, by extrapolation of the regrowth curve to zero dose. It is proposed that this procedure is more suitable for regrowth curves of spheroids than in-vivo tumours, because of the absence in vitro of complicating factors which occur only in vivo. By this means, survival curves were deduced and were found (for both cell lines) to be almost exponential in form, with little indication of capacity for accumulation of sublethal damage (multitarget parameters: DQ values: 17 and 25 cGy; Do values: 104 and 81 cGy respectively). These results contribute to the evidence for high radiosensitivity of neuroblastoma cells in vitro and provide a rationale for the use of hyperfractionation in the clinical treatment of neuroblastoma by radiotherapy.