Mechanisms of Enhanced Cell Killing at Low Doses: Implications for Radiation Risk
We have shown that cell lethality actually measured after exposure to low-doses of low-LET radiation, is markedly enhanced relative to the cell lethality previously expected by extrapolation of the high-dose cell-killing response. Net cancer risk is a balance between cell transformation and cell kill and such enhanced lethality may more than compensate for transformation at low radiation doses over a least the first 10 cGy of low-LET exposure. This would lead to a non-linear, threshold, dose-risk relationship. Therefore our data imply the possibility that the adverse effects of small radiation doses (<10 cGy) could be overestimated in specific cases. It is now important to research the mechanisms underlying the phenomenon of low-dose hypersensitivity to cell killing, in order to determine whether this can be generalized to safely allow an increase in radiation exposure limits. This would have major cost-reduction implications for the whole EM program.
- Research Organization:
- Gray Cancer Institute (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG07-99ER62878
- OSTI ID:
- 816335
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ER/62878; EMSP 69981; TRN: US0304966
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 15 Oct 2003
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Mechanisms of enhanced cell killing at low doses: Implications for radiation risk
Reduced temperature (22{degrees}C) results in enhancement of cell killing and neoplastic transformation in noncycling HeLa x skin fibroblast human hybrid cells irradiated with low-dose-rate gamma radiation