Chromosome aberrations induced in vitro in human lymphocytes by monoenergetic 2.5 MeV neutrons and 60Co gamma rays

The aim of the present experiments was to evaluate the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of monoenergetic 2.5 MeV neutrons, in view of the scarcity of data on the RBE of neutrons in this energy range. Human peripheral blood lymphocytes from two donors were exposed to doses of neutrons ranging from 0.005 Gy to 0.5 Gy. Gamma rays produced by a telecobalt therapy unit were used as reference radiation. RBE values were of the same order of magnitude, whatever was the model of the dose-response curve chosen for the neutrons (linear or linear-quadratic). As expected, RBE increased markedly with decreasing doses and went beyond 30 at a dose level of 0.2 Gy. The present results, compared with RBE values obtained with neutrons of higher energy (6.5, 14 and 21 MeV), confirm that low energy neutrons are more effective in producing genetic effects, especially at low doses.