Abstract
There are no data regarding the late toxicity of trastuzumab (T) administration with radiotherapy (RT). In this experimental study, we aimed to asses if concurrent or sequential administration of T has any impact for the development of radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats. Fifty-four female Wistar-albino rats were divided into 6 groups. First group of rats (Group 1; concurrent T) had irradiation to whole thoracic region concurrently with T. Second group (Group 2: sequential T–RT) received thoracic irradiation, 1 week after T. Third group (Group 3: sequential RT–T) had thoracic irradiation first and they had T injection 1 week after RT. Fourth group (Group 4: T only) had only T application. Fifth group (Group 5: RT) had only RT. The last group (Group 6: sham) of rats were observed without any application. A single dose of 12 Gy was given to both lungs with an anterior field at 2 cm depth. T dose which was equivalent to 6 mg/kg adult dose was calculated for each rat, and injected by the tail vein. As an end point the extent of pulmonary fibrosis for each field was graded on a scale from 0 (normal lung or minimal fibrous thickening) to 4 (total fibrous obliteration of the field) at histopathological examination. The mean value of fibrosis scores were 1.44, 1.77, 1.75 and 1.62 for Group 1, 2, 3 and 5, respectively, without any statistically significant differences among them (P > 0.05). The mean value of fibrosis scores for Group 4 and 6 were 0.25 and 0.33, respectively (P > 0.05). When the mean value of fibrosis scores of the groups which had RT with or without T, compared with the observation and the T only groups, the difference was significant (P < 0.05) (one-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD post hoc tests) As a conclusion: addition of T to thoracic irradiation either sequentially or concomitantly did not increase radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats.
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Bese, N.S., Umay, C., Serdengecti, S. et al. The impact of trastuzumab on radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis: results of an experimental study. Med Oncol 27, 1415–1419 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-009-9395-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-009-9395-5