Morphological correlates of fractionated radiation of the mouse lung: early and late effects.

PURPOSE: The definition and quantitation of radiation-induced morphologic alterations in murine lungs is presented.

METHODS AND MATERIALS: The extent of injury to the lung, which is the dose-limiting organ in the thorax, may be reduced by fractionating the total radiation exposure to permit partial repair of radiation-induced damage between fraction administration and also to permit a larger total exposure to be administered. We previously reported that, following fractionated radiation exposures, as the dose/fraction decreases, the total dose to reach an isoeffect increases, with an alpha/beta ratio of 3.2 and 3.0 for breathing rates and lethality, respectively. In the present report, we provide comparative morphologic evaluation of the effects of weekly fractionated (three doses at one dose/week), daily fractionated (15 doses at 1/diem), and hyperfractionated (30 doses at 2/diem) radiation exposures. The doses administered within each group were uniform. To determine morphologic alterations, LAF1 mice were irradiated with 3, 15, and 30 fractions delivered in 19 days overall treatment time. In the hyperfractionation schedule, the two fractions per day were separated by a 6-h time interval. Total doses were as follows: 15-21 Gy for weekly fractionation, 30-41.5 Gy for daily fractionation, and 30-49.5 Gy for hyperfractionated schedules. Lung tissue, recovered either 24 or 72 weeks following the final exposure, was evaluated by transmission and scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy.

RESULTS: Using a series of morphologic parameters, a total dose of 15 Gy in the weekly treatment schedule was found to be equivalent to a total dose of 30 Gy in the daily fractionation schedule and 37 Gy in the hyperfractionated treatment regimen at 24 weeks postirradiation. Measured at 72 weeks postirradiation, total exposures of 15 Gy on the weekly fractionation regimen corresponded to total exposures of approximately 30 Gy in both the daily fractionated and hyperfractionated regimens. Morphological damage was not uniform throughout the exposed lung and tended to be concentrated in lobes or portions of lobes.

CONCLUSIONS: In the three fractionation regimens studied, there is progressive sparing of the lung with increased fractionation (i.e., weekly < daily < twice daily) during the pneumonitic stage (24 weeks postirradiation). Both daily and twice daily fractionations provide increased sparing over weekly fractionation during the fibrotic stages (72 weeks postirradiation), but were not markedly different from each other (i.e., weekly < daily = twice daily).