Hypoxic Tumor Can be More Responsive to Fractionated Irradiation Combined with SR 4233 (Tirapazamine)

Kim, Il Han; Brown, J Martin

Abstract

Hypothesis that hypoxic tumors should be more responsive to the addition of preferential hypoxic cell cytotoxin SR 4233 (tirapazamine) to fractionated irradiation was tested in the mouse SCCVII carcinoma and RIF-1 sarcoma, Model of hypoxic tumor was established using the tumor bed effect; tumors growing in the preirradiated tissue (preirradiated tumors) were more hypoxic than tumors growing in the unirradiated tissue (unirradiated tumors). When the tumors reached a mean volume of 100 mmdegree, both unirradiated and preirradiated tumors were treated with a fractionated course of 62 Gy in 3 days or 8 2.5 Gy in 4days with SR 4233 (0.08 mmlo/kg/injuection) given 30 minutes before each irradiation or without SR 4233. Compared to the unirradiated tumors, hypoxic preirradiated tumors were approximately 5 times more resistant to fractionated irradiation alone but were approximately 5 times more responsive to SR 4233. Addition of SR 4233 potentiated the effect of fractionated irradiation in both unirradiated and preirradiated tumors. Potentiation in the preirradiated tumors was morequal to or greater than that in the unirradiated tumors and seemed to be higher for more fractionated treatment. We confirm the hypothesis in a transplantable mouse tumor. Present results suggest that radioresistance of some hypoxic tumors can be overcome with hypoxic cytotoxin.