Irradiation of human tumor tissue cultures: optimizing ion radiation therapy.

摘要

Irradiation provides a key therapy that is highly beneficial for many tumors. However, finding proper doses and treatment regimes is mainly based on clinical studies and therefore, it takes years or even decades to develop effective protocols. We have established a system to irradiate slice cultures of human tumors with the ultimate goal of testing and studying the biological effects of irradiation with photons and heavy ions on cells in their organotypic environment. In this setting, irradiation-induced modes of cell death and mechanisms of resistance can be investigated using the complete spectrum of state-of-the-art morphology, pharmacology and molecular biology. Moreover, it is possible to systematically address the effects of fractionating and thus to determine the most effective regimes. This can also take into account circadian rhythms of tumors, an issue that is rarely addressed in the field.