In-vitro radiosensitivity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

To determine the "in-vitro" intrinsic cell radiosensitivity (RS) as a risk indicator of radiation-related side-effects in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) compared with healthy subjects (control group). Moreover, we elucidated if clinical, therapeutic and biological parameters could affect the "in-vitro" intrinsic RS in patients with SLE. Intrinsic RS was determined by the quantification of the initial radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks in peripheral lymphocytes, measured by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis from 52 patients with SLE and a control group consisting of 48 sex- and age-matched healthy subjects.