Kinetics of tumor cell death by hyperthermic treatment and x-ray irradiation

Kinetics of cell death by hyperthermic treatment at 44 degrees was analyzed using cultured mouse mammary carcinoma cells, and compared with that after X-irradiation. The cells treated with hyperthermia began to die randomly with a mean lethal time of 10 hr after a lag time of 10 hr. After irradiation, the lag time and mean lethal time were 40 and 34 hr, respectively. Early appearance of dead cells by hyperthermic treatment indicates that the critical target is related to cellular metabolism.