[Approaches to predicting the reaction of human tumors to radiotherapy]

Immunofluorescent method using anti-thymidine antibodies was employed to assess proliferative activity of 217 human tumors including oropharyngeal, esophageal, gastric, rectal and lung cancer. The activity was evaluated before and, in 38 neoplasms, in the course of radiotherapy. It was shown that changes in the proliferative activity of oropharyngeal and gastric malignancies observed early in the course of radiation treatment may serve for predicting response.