ASSOCIATION OF INVITRO RADIOSENSITIVITY AND CANCER IN A FAMILY WITH ACUTE MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA

  • 1 January 1981
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 41  (6) , 2046-2050
Abstract
The .gamma.-ray sensitivity of skin fibroblasts from 6 members of a cancer family was investigated using a colony-forming assay. Fibroblasts from the 3 members with cancer (2 sisters with acute myelogenous leukemia and the mother with cervical carcinoma) showed a significant (P < 0.05) increase in radiosensitivity, while 3 members without cancer (the father and 2 sons) showed a normal radioresponse. The possibility that the increased .gamma.-ray sensitivity was due to defective DNA repair was investigated using assays for DNA repair replication, single-strand break rejoining and removal of enzyme-sensitive sites in .gamma.-irradiated DNA. The kinetics of enzymatic repair of radiogenic DNA damage in general, and the rejoining of single-strand scissions and excision repair of base and sugar radioproducts in particular, were the same in the cell lines from the sensitive and clinically normal family members.