Cell culture studies were carried out to determine whether moderate hyperthermia reduces the oxygen enhancement ratio of cells under well-defined cultural conditions. Using asynchronously growing HeLa cells, the OER of cells with and without glucose was determined following exposure of cells to moderate hyperthermia, 40.5 degrees C for 1 hr, immediately after X irradiation. The OER of cells with 5 mM glucose was 3.2, whereas the OER of glucose-deprived cells was reduced to 2.0. The pH of the cell culture medium was kept at 7.4 throughout the experiments. The present finding may provide a clue toward further enhancing the radiosensitization of hypoxic cells by heat.