Dose-rate, rbe, and oer

An analysis of the theories and experimental data dealing with dose-rate effect, relative biological effectiveness (rbe), and oxygen enhancement ratio (oer) for mammalian cells, indicate that neither the theories nor the experimental data themselves are helpful in establishing general rules regarding variations of rbe or oer with dose-rate. There are inconsistencies among the theories which are often at variance with experimental data, which too, are inconsistent among themselves.