Relative biological effectiveness in canine osteosarcoma cells irradiated with accelerated charged particles

Heavy ions, characterized by high linear energy transfer (LET) radiation, have advantages compared with low LET protons and photons in their biological effects. The application of heavy ions within veterinary clinics requires additional background information to determine heavy ion efficacy. In the present study, comparison of the cell‑killing effects of photons, protons and heavy ions was investigated in canine osteosarcoma (OSA) cells in vitro. A total of four canine OSA cell lines with various radiosensitivities were irradiated with 137Cs gamma‑rays, monoenergetic proton beams, 50 keV/µm carbon ion spread out Bragg peak beams and 200 keV/µm iron ion monoenergetic beams. Clonogenic survival was examined using colony‑forming assays, and relative biological effectiveness (RBE) values were calculated relative to gamma‑rays using the D10 value, which is determined as the dose (Gy) resulting in 10% survival. For proton irradiation, the RBE values for all four cell lines were 1.0‑1.1. For all four cell lines, exposure to carbon ions yielded a decreased cell survival compared with gamma‑rays, with the RBE values ranging from 1.56‑2.10. Iron ions yielded the lowest cell survival among tested radiation types, with RBE values ranging from 3.51‑3.69 observed in the three radioresistant cell lines. The radiosensitive cell line investigated demonstrated similar cell survival for carbon and iron ion irradiation. The results of the present study suggest that heavy ions are more effective for killing radioresistant canine OSA cells when compared with gamma‑rays and protons. This markedly increased efficiency of cell killing is an attractive reason for utilizing heavy ions for radioresistant canine OSA.