Abstract
Radiotherapy is a treatment that consists in destroying, by means of ionising radiation, an objectively visible and measurable tumour. Therefore, the answer to the question, “Does radiotherapy play a role in cancer prevention?” must definitely be: “No”. On the contrary, ionising radiation is one of the most important agents involved in carcinogenesis. Furthermore, radiation is also known to be mutagenic. Even at therapeutic doses, it may induce severe side effects in normal tissues. Consequently, we may conclude that, in terms of prevention, exposure to ionising radiation should be avoided.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Sagan LA: On radiation, paradigms and hormesis. Science 1989 (245):574
Wolf S: Are radiation-induced effects hormetic. Science 1989 (245):575
Boice JD: Cancer following medical irradiation. Cancer 1981 (47):1081–1090
Weber W (ed): Ionisierende Strahlen und Krebs. Ligue Suisse contre le Cancer. Berne 1990
Health Effects of Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation. BEIR V. National Academy Press, Washington 1990
Jablon S, Bailar JC: The contribution of ionizing radiation to cancer mortality in the United States. Prev Med 1980 (9):227–230
Glynn TJ, Manley MW, Cullen JW, Mayer WJ: Cancer prevention through physician intervention. Sem Oncol 1990 (17):391–401
Boice JD Jr, Land CE, Shore RE et al: Risk of breast cancer following low dose radiation exposure. Radiology 1979 (131):589–597
Awwad HK: Radiation Oncology. Radiobiological and Physiological Perspectives. The boundary zone between clinical radiotherapy and fundamental radiobiology and physiology. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, Dordrecht, London 1990
Bureau of Radiological Health: A review of the use of ionizing radiation for the treatment of benign disease, Vol. I. US Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Rockville MD 1977 pp 1–2
Schnyder UW, Sigg C: Management of hereditary melanoma and precursors. In: Weber W, Laffer UT, Durig M (eds) Hereditary Cancer and Preventive Surgery. Karger, Basel 1990 pp 84–92
Nissen-Meyer R: Primary breast cancer: The effect of primary ovarian irradiation. Ann Oncol 1991 (2):343–346
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1992 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Haefliger, J.M. (1992). Radiation and Cancer Prevention. In: Weber, W. (eds) Familial Cancer Control. ESO Monographs. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-77582-6_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-77582-6_15
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-77584-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-77582-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive