Theoretical value of radiation priming for mitigating toxicity in radiation therapy

Abstract The relevance of ionizing radiation effects is high in the field of radiation oncology. Namely, radiation toxicity is a crucial limiting factor in dose administration. To address this concern, by adopting an empirical approach it is possible to uncover certain truths that might not be attainable through rigorous biophysical analysis, as the human body represents a complex system. That is, even possessing complete knowledge of interactions between its elementary units (cells) may prove insufficient in explaining the overall system’s reactions. An empirical mathematical model for adaptive biological response to time-dependent irradiation of arbitrary time-shapes was developed. The model was based on the damped-oscillator analogy from physics. The research reported here is a generalization of the damped-oscillator model by introducing a biologically relevant inverted Gompertzian-like shape, rather commonly employed in adaptive response modeling, with practical implications for biologists and oncologists. Based on the developed model, a practical approach is suggested to improve radiation therapy protocols by radiation training (priming) through administration of low, gradually increasing total-body irradiation doses. Following this priming, individuals should be capable of withstanding higher therapeutic doses, maybe up to five times the regular amount. Initial estimations propose a training time of approximately six weeks and a training dose of up to approximately 600 cGy. If the model is correct, effectiveness of radiation therapy can be significantly improved by radiation priming, since administration of considerably higher therapeutic doses would be enabled through priming procedures.