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Title: Theory of the induction of bone cancer by alpha radiation. [/sup 224/Ra, /sup 226/Ra, /sup 228/Ra]

Journal Article · · Radiat. Res.; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2307/3574719· OSTI ID:7221698

A theory of the induction of osteosarcoma by ..cap alpha.. particles fits the data for radium in man and dog over the entire dose-time-response surface. The theory postulates that an endosteal cell near bone surface is transformed by three events. Two initiation events, each with a probability of 4 x 10/sup -8//rad (an effective target diameter of 100 A), are produced in a single cell by two ..cap alpha.. particles. A promotion event then occurs at a rate of 10/sup -2//year, not related to radiation, but proportional to the rate of bone remodeling. In competition with these events is the killing of any endosteal cell by an ..cap alpha.. particle with a probability of 10/sup -2//rad. Killed endosteal cells are assumed to be replaced by stem cells at a rate of 10/sup -1//day. Postulated tumor growth takes 3 to 6 years. These values for man are preliminary. The probability per rad per cell of each initiation appears to be approximately 10 times larger in dog than in man. A new method of three-dimensional analysis provides a compact way to report more fully the data for internal emitters and eliminates competing risks from comparisons between theory and experiment. The theory provides an explanation for latent period, for the protraction effect for /sup 224/Ra in man, for the scarcity of tumors in compact bone, for the narrow time distribution of tumors in dog, for the wide time distribution of tumors in man, for the plateau in cumulative incidence at 17 to 31 percent observed so far for /sup 226/Ra-/sup 228/Ra in man, for the much higher plateau in dog (92 percent), and for the steep decrease of tumor rate with decreasing dose below the plateau. Tumor rate P is shown to be a function of endosteal dose D, and, at less than 1 rad/day, to be independent of endosteal dose rate F. At low doses, P is proportional to D/sup 2/. At high doses, P plateaus and becomes independent of D. The onset of the plateau occurs at 140 rad and is governed by the mean lethal dose to endosteal cells.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab., IL
OSTI ID:
7221698
Journal Information:
Radiat. Res.; (United States), Vol. 71:1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English