[Analysis on combined effect of X-rays with 5-FU on rat subcutaneous gliomas]

In a series of experiments on the combined use of radio- and chemotherapy for malignant glioma, X-rays combined with ACNU or 5-FU treatment caused a supra-additive effect on multicellular spheroids in vitro. In the present experiment, the effect of X-rays combined with 5-FU treatment on subcutaneously transplanted rat gliomas of RGC-6 cells was analyzed. The dose-survival curve for X-rays given to tumors in air-breathing rats was biphasic with a terminal slope (D0 = 4.3 Gy) that was parallel to that for tumors in previously killed rats. The hypoxic cell fraction thus obtained from the ratio of the surviving fraction in two parallel curves at 20 Gy was about 7% in the subcutaneous tumors in air-breathing rats. X-ray-induced, potentially lethal cellular damage recovered within 8 hours in these tumors. The surviving fraction of cells in the tumors decreased to a minimum at 4-6 hours after a 5-FU injection, but increased thereafter. A biphasic dose-response curve for 5-FU was also obtained for cells in these tumors, indicating the presence of 5-FU resistant cells. The effect of X-irradiation given at about 8 hours after a 5-FU injection was greater than the additive effect of both agents acting independently. This was true when an X-ray dose of more than 5 Gy was given.