Radiobiology of pions at LAMPF

Recent radiobiology data for pion beams used in therapy are presented. The biological systems used were cultured cells suspended in gelatin and intestinal crypt assay. The importance of fast neutrons from pion stars in large treatment volumes is discussed. The data for compensating the depth dose distribution to produce uniform cell killing across the peak region are presented. The changes in biological effectiveness with peak width for pion beams (unlike heavy ions) are small because of fast neutron contribution from pion stars. The need for innovative radiobiology programs to guide high-LET radiotherapy is discussed.