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Published on: May 7, 2015
Evaluation of insulin-like growth factor-1 for prevention of radiation-induced spinal cord damage
Carsten Nieder1, Nicolaus Andratschke, Roger E Price
1Department of Radiation Oncology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany. cnied@hotmail.com
Aim:
To test whether insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) ameliorates radiation-induced spinal cord myelopathy and to establish the dose-effect relationship for this growth factor which has not been administered in conjunction with spinal cord irradiation to date.
Methods:
Animal experiments were conducted to test the feasibility of IGF-1 injection in a model of cervical spinal cord irradiation in adult Fisher F-344 rats and to determine the most effective dose level of IGF-1. Irradiation was given in two fractions (16 Gy followed by 18 Gy) and animals were examined for the development of paresis (follow-up 12 months).
Results:
The dose-finding experiment revealed significant differences in the incidence of radiation myelopathy (RM). The most effective dose of IGF-1 was 50 microg per day.
Conclusions:
IGF-1 showed promising activity as a radioprotective agent in a model of high-dose spinal cord irradiation. Further studies are needed to examine the results with multiple small doses of radiation as widely applied in clinical protocols.
