Synchrotron microbeam radiation therapy induces hypoxia in intracerebral gliosarcoma but not in the normal brain

Abstract Purpose Synchrotron microbeam radiation therapy (MRT) is an innovative irradiation modality based on spatial fractionation of a high-dose X-ray beam into lattices of microbeams. The increase in lifespan of brain tumor-bearing rats is associated with vascular damage but the physiological consequences of MRT on blood vessels have not been described. In this manuscript, we evaluate the oxygenation changes induced by MRT in an intracerebral 9L gliosarcoma model. Methods Tissue responses to MRT (two orthogonal arrays (2 × 400 Gy)) were studied using magnetic resonance-based measurements of local blood oxygen saturation (MR_SO2 ) and quantitative immunohistology of RECA-1, Type-IV collagen and GLUT-1, marker of hypoxia. Results In tumors, MR_SO2 decreased by a factor of 2 in tumor between day 8 and day 45 after MRT. This correlated with tumor vascular remodeling, i.e. decrease in vessel density, increases in half-vessel distances (×5) and GLUT-1 immunoreactivity. Conversely, MRT did not change normal brain MR_SO2 , although vessel inter-distances increased slightly. Conclusion We provide new evidence for the differential effect of MRT on tumor vasculature, an effect that leads to tumor hypoxia. As hypothesized formerly, the vasculature of the normal brain exposed to MRT remains sufficiently perfused to prevent any hypoxia.