The kinetics of repair in mouse lung after fractionated irradiation

The kinetics of repair of sublethal damage in mouse lung was studied after fractionated doses of 137Cs gamma-rays. A wide range of doses per fraction (1.7-12 Gy) was given with interfraction intervals ranging from 0.5 to 24 h. The data were analysed by a direct method of analysis using the incomplete repair model. The half-time of repair (T1/2) was 0.76 h for the pneumonitis phase of damage (up to 8 months) and 0.65 h for the later phase of damage up to 12 months. The rate of repair was dependent on fraction size for both phases of lung damage and was faster after large dose fractions than after small fractions. The T1/2 was 0.6 h (95 per cent c.1. 0.53, 0.69) for doses per fraction greater than 5 Gy and 0.83 h (95 per cent c.1 0.76, 0.92) for doses per fraction of 2 Gy. Repair was nearly complete by 6 h, at least for the pneumonitis phase of damage. To the extent that extrapolation of these data to humans may be valid, these results imply that treatments with multiple fractions per day that involve the lung will not be limited by the necessity for interfraction intervals much longer than 6 h.