Purpose: We examined in rats whether the radiation tolerance of spinal cord is enhanced by using hyperfractionated radiotherapy compared to a conventional schedule. Higher tolerable doses to the spinal cord would allow dose escalation to the tumor and thus possibly lead to higher cure rates, especially in tumors with high cell proliferation.
Methods and materials: Cervical spinal cord of 276 healthy rats was irradiated over 6 weeks hyperfractionally with single doses ranging from 0.75-2.5 Gy up to total doses ranging from 45-150 Gy (60 fractions) and conventionally with single doses of 1.5-4.0 Gy up to total doses of 45-120 Gy (30 fractions). The rats were examined neurologically and sacrificed when paralysis of the hind legs occurred. After fixation, spinal cord was removed and examined histologically. Dose-effect relationship and latency from the beginning of radiotherapy to the onset of paralysis were computed and analyzed using a multivariate logistic regression model.
Results: The model fitted the observed data excellently. There were highly significant effects both for the dose level and for the treatment regimen. Latency analysis showed earlier and more intense acute side effects after hyperfractionation but radiomyelopathy occurred markedly later.
Conclusions: The sparing effect of hyperfractionation on spinal cord as predicted by radiobiologists could be confirmed in our experiments. Thus, it seems possible to escalate tumor doses using hyperfractionation without enhanced risk to spinal cord but with higher probability of tumor cure.