Radiosensitization of Human Bronchogenic Carcinoma Cells by Interferon Beta

Abstract
The effects of interferons on the radiosensitivity of in vitro human bronchogenic carcinoma cells was investigated. Human fibroblast-derived interferon (IFN-β) was found to sensitize cells to gamma irradiation while either HuIFN-α or mouse IFN-α/β did not. The observed radiosensitization was supra-additive and resulted in a decrease in the shoulder width of the radiation dose—cell survival curve but did not affect the slope. The degree of radiosensitization of the various IFNs tested paralleled the antiproliferative effects of these IFNs on this cell line.