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Radiobiological influence of megavoltage electron pulses of ultra-high pulse dose rate on normal tissue cells

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Abstract

Regarding the long-term goal to develop and establish laser-based particle accelerators for a future radiotherapeutic treatment of cancer, the radiobiological consequences of the characteristic short intense particle pulses with ultra-high peak dose rate, but low repetition rate of laser-driven beams have to be investigated. This work presents in vitro experiments performed at the radiation source ELBE (Electron Linac for beams with high Brilliance and low Emittance). This accelerator delivered 20-MeV electron pulses with ultra-high pulse dose rate of 1010 Gy/min either at the low pulse frequency analogue to previous cell experiments with laser-driven electrons or at high frequency for minimizing the prolonged dose delivery and to perform comparison irradiation with a quasi-continuous electron beam analogue to a clinically used linear accelerator. The influence of the different electron beam pulse structures on the radiobiological response of the normal tissue cell line 184A1 and two primary fibroblasts was investigated regarding clonogenic survival and the number of DNA double-strand breaks that remain 24 h after irradiation. Thereby, no considerable differences in radiation response were revealed both for biological endpoints and for all probed cell cultures. These results provide evidence that the radiobiological effectiveness of the pulsed electron beams is not affected by the ultra-high pulse dose rates alone.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are much obligated to the ELBE crew for their continuing interest and support of the presented study. The work was supported by the German Government, Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Grant Nos. 03ZIK445 and 03Z1N511.

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Author notes

  1. Lydia Laschinsky

    Present address: Menarini – Von Heyden GmbH, Leipziger Straße 7 – 13, 01097, Dresden, Germany

  2. Melanie Oppelt

    Present address: Quintiles GmbH, Hugenottenallee 167, 63263, Neu-Isenburg, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. OncoRay – National Centre for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstr. 74, PF 41, 01307, Dresden, Germany

    Lydia Laschinsky, Leonhard Karsch, Melanie Oppelt, Jörg Pawelke, Christian Richter & Michael Schürer

  2. Institute of Radiation Physics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden – Rossendorf (HZDR), Bautzner Landstraße 400, P.O. Box 510119, 01314, Dresden, Germany

    Lydia Laschinsky, Elisabeth Leßmann, Melanie Oppelt, Jörg Pawelke, Christian Richter & Elke Beyreuther

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  1. Lydia Laschinsky
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Correspondence to Elke Beyreuther.

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Laschinsky, L., Karsch, L., Leßmann, E. et al. Radiobiological influence of megavoltage electron pulses of ultra-high pulse dose rate on normal tissue cells. Radiat Environ Biophys 55, 381–391 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00411-016-0652-7

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