BACKGROUND: To quantify the effect of implanted low-dose-rate iodine seeds combined with fractionated external beam radiation on local control rates in an experimental tumor system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Experiments were done on the rhabdomyosarcoma R1H of the rat transplanted s.c. into the back of male WAG/Raj albino rats. Tumors were irradiated with 200 kVp X-rays with 2 Gy/fraction 5 times weekly. The total dose of the external beam irradiation varied between 60 and 98 Gy for external beam radiotherapy alone and 10 Gy to 82 Gy for combined external beam radiotherapy and iodine seeds. One to 4 iodine seeds with a median activity of 21.05 MBq were permanently implanted 3 days before the start of external radiotherapy or 6 and 7 iodine seeds alone were used. The median tumor volume at the start of treatment was 0.12 cm3. Local tumor control rates were determined and TCD37% values were calculated applying the maximum likelihood method. RESULTS: With increasing number of implanted iodine seeds the TCD37% (of external beam irradiation) decreased. With external beam radiotherapy alone the TCD37% amounted to 103.2 Gy (95% CI, 101.3 to 105.1 Gy) decreasing to (externally applied doses) 69.7 Gy (63.7 to 74.7 Gy) after 1 implanted iodine seed and further to 31.6 Gy (25.6 to 37.6 Gy) after 4 implanted iodine seeds. The effective dose (equivalent to external dose) per iodine seed decreased with increasing number of implanted iodine seeds. One iodine seed gave an effective dose of 33.5 Gy (28.5 to 39.5 Gy) decreasing to 17.9 Gy (16.4 to 19.4 Gy) after 4 iodine seeds. CONCLUSIONS: The combined treatment of tumors with implanted low-dose-rate iodine seeds and external beam irradiation can decrease the total dose of the external beam irradiation and, hence, offer the possibility of considerable dose sparing of normal tissues without compromising local tumor control rates.
