Program Information
FLASH Irradiation Improves the Therapeutic Index Following GI Tract Irradiation
E Schueler*, S Trovati , G King , F Lartey , M Rafat , B Loo , P Maxim , Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California
Presentations
TU-H-CAMPUS-TeP2-2 (Tuesday, August 2, 2016) 5:00 PM - 5:30 PM Room: ePoster Theater
Purpose: To investigate and characterize the radiobiological effectiveness of very high dose rate radiotherapy (FLASH) compared to conventional irradiation in an in vivo model.
Methods: The gastrointestinal (GI) tract of C57BL/6 mice were irradiated with doses ranging between 10 and 18 Gy using a custom stereotactic jig. A Varian Clinac 21EX was modified to allow dose rates ranging from 0.05 to 240 Gy/s at the position of the mirror. With the gantry at 180 degrees, the jig holding the individual animals was placed above the mirror to take advantage of the reduced source to target distance. Mice were irradiated with 20MeV electrons. Following irradiation, the mice were monitored twice daily for morbidity and daily for weight changes.
Results: Mice irradiated with FLASH irradiation had lower weight loss compared to the mice receiving conventional irradiation. Following FLASH irradiation, a maximum weight loss of ~20% was observed at day 6 with subsequent recovery, while following conventional irradiation, higher weight losses was observed with fewer instances of recovery. Concerning survival, all mice in the conventionally irradiated groups had a 100% mortality in the range of 15.5-18 Gy, while the mice irradiated with FLASH irradiation had a 100% survival in the same range.
Conclusion: These results have demonstrated proof of principle that FLASH irradiations have a dramatic impact on the overall survival of mice following GI tract irradiations. If the increase in the therapeutic window can be validated and understood, this would revolutionize the field of radiation oncology and lead to increased cure rates with reduced side effects following treatment, resulting in increased quality of life for cancer survivors.
Funding Support, Disclosures, and Conflict of Interest: Funding: DoD, Award#:W81XWH-14-1-0014, Weston Havens Foundation, Bio-X (Stanford University), the Office of the Dean of the Medical School, the Office of the Provost (Stanford University), and the Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation BL and PM are founders of TibaRay,Inc. BL and PM have received research grants from Varian and RaySearch Laboratory.
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