Sensitivity to X ray irradiation of alcohol treated glioma cells in culture.

The resistance of glioma cells to radiations may be diminished by previous ethanol or oxygen treatment. When rat glioma C6 cells were treated with either 50 mM or 100 mM ethanol in the culture medium before X ray irradiation (1000 rads), the surviving cells decrease two weeks later by about 40% compared with irradiated non treated cells. We suggest that the greater cell death after irradiation of alcohol treated glioma cells in culture may partially result from an accumulation of cytotoxic O = 2 radicals, since superoxide dismutase activity was reduced under these conditions.