Background: Quantification of radiation-induced
apoptosis in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) has
been proposed as a possible screening test for
cancer-prone individuals and also for the prediction
of normal tissue responses after radiotherapy.
Materials and Methods: The neutral version of the
comet assay (single-cell gel electrophoresis) was used
24, 48, 72 hours after irradiation with 8 Gy gamma
rays to assess interindividual differences in gamma
rays-induced apoptosis in peripheral blood leucocytes
between a panel of 30 normal individuals, and 30
breast cancer patients who hadn’t received radiotherapy
or chemotherapy previously. Slides were stained
with ethidium bromide and comets were assessed
using visual and computer analysis. Results: In all
incubation times, the baseline and radiation induced
apoptosis values were higher in breast cancer
patients compared to normal individuals which were
significantly different (p<0.01). Although, both baseline
and radiation induced values were higher in
young breast cancer patients, the age did not seem
to have a significant effect on apoptosis values both
in cancer cases and controls. Conclusion: The increased
rate of apoptosis observed in the leukocytes
of breast cancer cases might be associated with their
deficient DNA repair mechanisms. This finding might
indicate that the radiation induced apoptosis could
have some predictive potential. However, large
interindividual variation has been a drawback. More
studies are required to investigate the causes of
interindividual variation and how it might be minimized.
Iran. J. Radiat. Res., 2012 9(4): 237-244
Shahidi M, Mozdarani S, Shammas S. Interindividual differences in radiation-induced apoptosis of peripheral blood leukocytes in normal individuals and breast cancer patients. Int J Radiat Res 2012; 9 (4) :237-244 URL: http://ijrr.com/article-1-817-en.html