Title: Individual radiosensitivity: a key issue in radiation protection

Authors: Michel Bourguignon; N. Foray; C. Colin; Ernest Pauwels

Addresses: Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire, 6 Place Colonel Bourgoin, 75572, Paris, France ' INSERM, CR-U1052, Radiobiology Group, Cancer Research Centre, 28 Rue Laennec, 69008 Lyon, France ' Service de Radiologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Lyon-Sud, 69490, Pierre Bénite, France ' Leiden University Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Leiden, The Netherlands; Pisa University Medical School, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

Abstract: Immunofluorescence that permits the detection of nuclear targets specific to DNA damage signalling and repair have completely renewed the approach of individual radiosensitivity. It is a concern in radiotherapy in which radiosensitivity is responsible for the development of adverse side-effects in normal tissues in absence of any mistake in the dose delivery. Furthermore, individual radiosensitivity at low-dose has been recently demonstrated in human mammary epithelium exposed ex vivo in the conditions of mammographic screening. Although these results do not demonstrate directly the existence of mutagenesis, they indicate a possible link between cancer proneness and radiosensitivity. Hence, individual radiosensitivity is a real concern for public health since 5-15% of the population may be concerned and radiosensitive individuals generally show higher cancer risk than the rest of the population. Thus, individual radiosensitivity is a key issue to be addressed in future recommendations of the radioprotection system.

Keywords: ionising radiation; cancer proneness; individual radiosensitivity; radiation protection; low radiation; public health; cancer risk; DNA damage.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLR.2013.054186

International Journal of Low Radiation, 2013 Vol.9 No.1, pp.52 - 58

Published online: 13 Sep 2014 *

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