A method to estimate LET-RBE on cell killing for unknown heavy-ion particles

The LET-relative biological effectiveness (RBE) spectra were investigated using cultured V79 cells by accelerated heavy ions. Cells were exposed to ³He-, ¹²C-, and ²⁰Ne-ion beams at Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC), the Medical Cyclotron at National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), and RRC at RIKEN with an LET ranging over approximately 10-500 keV/μm under aerobic conditions. Cell-survival curves were fitted by equations from the linear-quadratic model to obtain survival parameters, and the RBE values were analyzed as a function of LET. The RBE increased with LET, reaching a maximum at around 200 keV/μm, then decreased with a further increase in LET. Clear splits of the LET-RBE spectrum were found among ion-spices. The LET-RBE spectra were fitted by a newly contrived equation that including three parameters: L_p, A, and W. The parameters will indicate a LET that gives a maximum RBE, a related value to maximum RBE, and indicates the width of the peak of RBE, respectively. It is also found that the parameters can be defined as functions of atomic numbers of the accelerated ions. At a given LET, the RBE-value for lighter ions was higher than that for heavier ions at lower-LET region. The LET that gives maximum RBE shifts to higher LET for heavier-ions, and the maximum values of the peak of RBE decreased with the atomic number of the irradiated ions. (author)