Time-dependent tumour repopulation factors in linear-quadratic equations--implications for treatment strategies

Tumour proliferation effects can be tentatively quantified in the linear-quadratic (LQ) method by the incorporation of a time-dependent factor, the magnitude of which is related both to the value of alpha in the tumour alpha/beta ratio, and to the tumour doubling time. The method, the principle of which has been suggested by a number of other workers for use in fractionated therapy, is here applied to both fractionated and protracted radiotherapy treatments, and examples of its uses are given. By assuming that repopulation of late-responding tissues is insignificant during normal treatment regimes it is possible to use the method to assess the broader implications for treatment strategies in terms of the behaviour of the Extrapolated Response Dose (ERD). Although the numerical credibility of the analysis used here depends on the reliability of the LQ model, and on the assumption that the rate of repopulation is constant throughout treatment, the predictions are consistent with other lines of reasoning which point to the advantages of accelerated hyperfractionation. In particular, it is demonstrated that accelerated fractionation represents a relatively "forgiving" treatment which enables tumours of a variety of sensitivities and clonogenic growth rates to be treated moderately successfully, even though the critical cellular parameters may not be known in individual cases. The analysis also suggests that tumours which combine low intrinsic sensitivity with a very short doubling time might be better controlled by low dose-rate continuous therapy than by almost any form of accelerated hyperfractionation.