RT Flashcards
What is the unit of absorbed dose for RT and what does it 1 equal?
Gray; 1 Gy= one joule absorbed per kg of tissue
Megavoltage/orthovoltage photons are the predominant form of RT used in vet med?
megavoltage
Megavoltage photons interact with tissue primarily by ____ that produces _____ that work via direct or indirect actions.
Compton effect; high energy electrons
How can megavoltage photons cause either direct or indirect effects
Direct: electrons cause ionization events to critical molecules Indirect: electrons cause ionizing events to water located near critical molecules
What is the most common form of cell death caused by RT?
Mitotic catastrophe
What phase are cells most resistant to RT in?k
Late S-phase; cells with a long G1 period also; also G0 because not cycling
What phase are cells most sensitive to RT
G2 or M; also late G1 to early S phase
Are normoxic or hypoxic cells more sensitive to RT?
Normoxic - need O2 to generate reactive oxygen spp that cause much of the damage from RT
How do low energy photons interact with tissues?
mostly photoelectric effect
orthovoltage x-rays distrubte the max doses in what tissue?
Skin –> bad acute tox in skin and SQ usually dose limiting
Describe the indirect effects of ionizing RT
Photon interacts with water, generates free radicals that damage the target
What are the energy ranges for orthovoltage vs. megavoltage RT?
Ortho: lower energy, 150-300 kVp Megavoltage: higher energy, >1MeV
What is the relative biologic effectiveness (RBE)
Measure of the amount of energy transferred per unit path length - uses LET + other factors including biologic endpoint, fractionation, RT dose rate and dose
What tissue/cells are particularly prone to apoptosis from RT?
lymphoid tissues
High doses of RT cause apoptosis of endothelial cells which is called _____.
vascular collapse
In vet med, what is considered the range and total dose for standard fractionation? How does this compare to human RT?
2.7-4.0Gy to a total of 42-57Gy Most vet med protocols considered hypofx compared to human
What is hyperfractionation?
dose per fraction reduced and the total dose is increased
What is accelerated RT?
overall time of treatment reduced
What are the 5Rs of RT?
Repair, Redistribution, Reoxygenation, Repopulation and Radiosensitivity
Which of the 5 R’s becomes an issue for tumor control, usually after 4-6 weeks of therapy?
Repopulation - after this cells may repop more quickly; this is why treatment breaks can result in poor tumor control
Repopulation may have a greater adverse effect on slowly/rapidly dividing tumors
rapidly
What is the only tissue that early-delayed RT effects have been found? When does this usually happen?
Nervous tissue - usually 2wks - 4mo
What are possible causes of early-delayed RT effects?
Demyelination Cerebral edema-associated cytokine release w/ tumor cell death
What cytokine is thought to play a critical role in radiation fibrosis?
TGF-beta
What strategies are used in human RT to mitigate late RT side effects?
use of antioxidants and free radical scavengers (superoxide dismutase, vit E, thiol radioprotectors), vascular directed therapies (clopidogrel, pentoxifylline), ACE inhibitors, antiinflammatory agents (steroids) and stem cell therapies