Radiosensitization of human bronchogenic carcinoma cells by interferon beta.

The effects of interferons on the radiosensitivity of in vitro human bronchogenic carcinoma cells was investigated. Human fibroblast-derived interferon (IFN-beta) was found to sensitize cells to gamma irradiation while either HuIFN-alpha or mouse IFN-alpha/beta did not. The observed radiosensitization was supra-additive and resulted in a decrease in the shoulder width of the radiation dose-cell survival curve but did not affect the slope. The degree of radiosensitization of the various IFNs tested paralleled the antiproliferative effects of these IFNs on this cell line.