Grenz-ray therapy (GT) is commonly used for dermatological radiotherapy and has a higher linear energy transfer, relative biological effectiveness (RBE) and oxygen enhancement ratio (OER). GT is a treatment option for lentigo maligna and lentigo maligna melanoma. This study aims to calculate the RBE for DNA double-strand break (DSB) induction and cell survival under hypoxic conditions for GT. The yield of DSBs induced by GT is calculated at the aerobic and hypoxic conditions, using a Monte Carlo damage simulation (MCDS) software. The RBE value for cell survival is calculated using the repair-misrepair-fixation (RMF) model. The RBE values for cell survival for cells irradiated by 15 kV, 10 kV and 10 kVp and titanium K-shell X-rays (4.55 kV) relative to 60Co γ-rays are 1.0-1.6 at the aerobic conditions and moderate hypoxia (2% O2), respectively, but increase to 1.2, 1.4 and 1.9 and 2.1 in conditions of severe hypoxia (0.1% O2). The OER values for DSB induction relative to 60Co γ-rays are about constant and ~2.4 for GT, but the OER for cell survival is 2.8-2.0 as photon energy decreases from 15 kV to 4.55 kV. The results indicate that GT results in more DSB induction and allows effective tumor control for superficial and hypoxic tumors.
Keywords: Grenz rays; cell survival; double strand break; hypoxia; oxygen enhancement ratio; relative biological effectiveness.