The Relation of Radiosensitivity and Radiocurability to the Histology of Tumour Tissue

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Abstract
1. Radiosensitivity of tumour tissue is not linked with its radiocurability. 2. The preponderance of short-lived undifferentiated cells and thus the degree of anaplasia determines the degree of radiosensitivity of tumours, as measured by the rate of tumour shrinkage. 3. The radiocurability of tumours—measured by the five-year symptom-free rate—varies with the degree of differentiation of the tissue and inversely with the growth-coefficient and the tendency to metastatic spread. 4. The reduction of radiocurability of tumours by lymphnode involvement is due to the biological character of such tumours rather than to differences in response of tumour tissue at primary and secondary sites. 5. The capacity for increased differentiation under radiation distinguishes most of the radiocurable tumours.