We investigated the death pattern of cancer cells by using different kinds of linear energy transfer (LET) radiation. We used two human squamous cell carcinoma cell lines with an identical genotype except for the p53 gene. SAS/mp53 cells were established by transfection with the mp53 gene to SAS cells having functional p53 (wtp53). As the control, a neovector was transfected to the SAS cells (SAS/neo cells). Both types of cells were exposed to X-rays (1.5 KeV/micron) or accelerated C-beams (30-100 KeV/micron). The frequency of cell death (apoptosis and necrosis) was measured by acridine orange/ethidium bromide(AO/EB) double staining for fluorescence microscopy. We found that (1) low-LET radiation induced apoptosis only in SAS/neo cells; (2) high-LET radiation at an iso-survival dose induced apoptosis not but necrosis in SAS/neo cells at a higher frequency; (3) high-LET radiation induced p53-independent apoptosis even in SAS/mp53 cells. Our findings suggest that high-LET radiotherapy is expected to (1) have validity in its application to patients carrying mutated p53 cancer cells and (2) reduce injury to adjacent normal tissue for high-frequency-induced apoptosis without inflammatory response. We propose that elucidation of p53-independent apoptosis-related genes might provide new insights into radiotherapy for cancer.