Neutron-induced mammary neoplasms

Book · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1973

OSTI ID:4347665

Vogel, Jr, H H

Three month old, female Sprague-Dawley/ANL rats were expoeed at the Health Physics Research Reactor (DOSAR), at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, to a single whole-body dose of fission neutrons between 2.0 and 2.2 rads. 18/71 (25%) of these irradiated rats developed a mammary tumor within 450 days after exposure. During this same time only 6/101 unirradiated control rats showed any palpable spontaneous mammary tumors. These differences are highly significant (p = < 0.01). The results from this neutron experiment were compared with similar exposures to low LET x-irradiation. Relative biological effectiveness (RBE) for this tumor system sppears to be approximately 50 at this low neutron dose. This is an extremely high value, for any mammalian system tested to date, although recent evidence indicates that this mammary tumor system may not be unique in such high RBE values after low neutron doses. More work in radiobiology, especially at low doses, is needed before neutron radiation therapy is applied to man. (GE)

• Research Organization: Univ. of Tennessee, Memphis
• NSA Number: NSA-29-016012
• OSTI ID: 4347665
• Country of Publication: Germany
• Language: English

Related Subjects

*FISSION NEUTRONS-- RBE
*MAMMARY GLANDS-- NEOPLASMS
*NEOPLASMS-- RADIOINDUCTION
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
HPRR REACTOR
LET
N48520* --Life Sciences--Radiation Effects on Animals-- Vertebrates
PHOTON BEAMS
RATS
WHOLE-BODY IRRADIATION
X RADIATION