Increase of lifespan for glioma-bearing rats by using minibeam radiation therapy

J. Synchrotron Rad. (2012). 19, 60–65 (http://doi.org/dk88n6)

Survival curves (as a function of time) of 9L gliosarcoma-bearing rats for different doses. The responses of both the control rats (CTRL) and the rats receiving one fraction minibeam radiation therapy in unidirectional and interlaced configurations are shown.

A new radiotherapy technique, minibeam radiation therapy (MBRT), is under development at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. It combines submillimetric field sizes (500–700 µm) and a spatial fractionation of dose, which leads to exceptional normal tissue dose tolerances. This might permit the use of potentially curative doses in some radioresistant tumors, like gliomas. This work reports a dose escalation study performed on 9L gliosarcoma-bearing rats. A factor of three gain in mean survival time paves the way for further exploration of different possibilities of MBRT.