Factors that modify radiation-induced carcinogenesis.

It is known that numerous factors can influence radiation carcinogenesis in animals; these factors include the specific characteristics of the radiation (radiation type and dose, dose-rate, dose-fractionation, dose distribution, etc.) as well as many other contributing elements that are not specific to the radiation exposure, such as animal genetic characteristics and age, the environment of the animal, dietary factors and whether specific modifying agents for radiation carcinogenesis have been utilized in the studies. This overview focuses on the modifying factors for radiation carcinogenesis, in both in vivo and in vitro systems, and includes a discussion of agents that enhance (e.g., promoting agents) or suppress (e.g., cancer preventive agents) radiation-induced carcinogenesis. The agents that enhance or suppress radiation carcinogenesis in experimental model systems have been shown to lead to effects equally as large as other known modifying factors for radiation-induced carcinogenesis (e.g., dose-rate, dose-fractionation, linear energy transfer). It is known that dietary factors play an important role in determining the yields of radiation-induced cancers in animal model systems, and it is likely that they also influence radiation-induced cancer risks in human populations.