Radiation response a meltdown in reason

July 14, 2011 in Cancer

The possibility that low doses of radiation may prevent or delay the progression of cancer is being explored by a Flinders University research team led by Professor Pam Sykes (pictured) in a move that runs counter to the widely held perception that exposure to any radiation is harmful.

Professor Sykes, recently appointed to the University’s Strategic Professorship in Preventive Biology in the Flinders Centre for Cancer Prevention and Control says the public panic in response to nuclear accidents such as that at Fukushima in Japan is the result of a general ignorance about radiation.

“We have to ensure that radiation is respected and we have to understand what damage radiation can cause – but radiation is not the poison, the dose is,” Professor Sykes said.

“We need radiation in our environment, just as we need vitamins and minerals. Too much is a problem, too little is a problem,” she said.

“Chernobyl was obviously a disaster but there was no increase in leukaemia, solid tumours or birth defects among the 335,000 people who were evacuated and who received less than 100 milliSieverts of radiation – that’s five times the dose I’m allowed as a radiation worker.

“There was an increase in thyroid tumours but we’re not sure how much that related to the fact that everyone was screened for thyroid tumours, which wouldn’t normally happen.

“It’s now been accepted that they should not have evacuated so many people because the biggest detriment from Chernobyl was that they were dramatically disadvantaged, both economically and socially. Many suffered depression thinking they were going to die of cancer.

“And the frightening thing is that it’s been estimated that throughout Europe there were over 100,000 wanted pregnancies aborted, and these were people who didn’t live anywhere near Chernobyl.”

Professor Sykes’ research, which involves doses of radiation that are up to three orders of magnitude lower than those used by other investigators, has been funded by the US Department of Energy Low Dose Radiation Research Program for almost 10 years.

“Using a transgenic mouse that is very sensitive to stressors, we have identified regions in the dose range that cause different biological effects,” she said.

“Some of our colleagues in Germany and Oxford have shown that low doses of radiation to cells in culture trigger a mechanism which removes pre-tumour cells. We’re now working to see if we can identify this response in a mouse.

“If we can understand these mechanisms, we can manipulate them to prevent cancer,” adding it might be “several years” before the potential to humans could be confirmed.

Studies in Canada and Japan have also shown that low doses of radiation given to mice delay the onset of cancer, and reduce the symptoms of diabetes and atherosclerosis, improving the span and quality of life of the affected animals.

Professor Sykes and her team are currently examining low dose therapy in reducing or preventing prostate cancer, with a grant from the Prostate Council Foundation of Australia.

Provided by Flinders University

4 /5 (2 votes)  

Rank 4 /5 (2 votes)
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

Improved chemo regimen for childhood leukemia may offer high survival, no added heart toxicity

Treating pediatric leukemia patients with a liposomal formulation of anthracycline-based chemotherapy at a more intense-than-standard dose during initial treatment may result in high survival rates without causing any added ...

Cancer created 2 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Protein preps cells to survive stress of cancer growth and chemotherapy

Scientists have uncovered a survival mechanism that occurs in breast cells that have just turned premalignant-cells on the cusp between normalcy and cancers-which may lead to new methods of stopping tumors.

Cancer created 3 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Frequent heartburn may predict cancers of the throat and vocal cord

Frequent heartburn was positively associated with cancers of the throat and vocal cord among nonsmokers and nondrinkers, and the use of antacids, but not prescription medications, had a protective effect, according to data ...

Cancer created 3 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Key find for early bladder cancer treatment

Aggressive forms of bladder cancer involve the protein PODXL – a discovery that could hold the key to improved treatment, according to researchers at Lund University, Uppsala University and KTH in Sweden.

Cancer created 5 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Cold plasma successful against brain cancer cells

For the first time, physicists from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), biologists and physicians demonstrated the synergistic effect of cold atmospheric plasma - a partly ionized ...

Cancer created 6 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast


Drug reverses Alzheimer's disease deficits in mice, research confirms

An anti-cancer drug reverses memory deficits in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health researchers confirm in the journal Science.

Economic incentives increase blood donation without negative consequences

Can economic incentives such as gift cards, T-shirts, and time off from work motivate members of the public to increase their donations of blood?

Scientists discover molecule triggers sensation of itch

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health report they have discovered in mouse studies that a small molecule released in the spinal cord triggers a process that is later experienced in the brain as the sensation of ...

Multiple research teams unable to confirm high-profile Alzheimer's study

Teams of highly respected Alzheimer's researchers failed to replicate what appeared to be breakthrough results for the treatment of this brain disease when they were published last year in the journal Science.

Motion quotient: IQ predicted by ability to filter motion (w/ video)

A brief visual task can predict IQ, according to a new study. This surprisingly simple exercise measures the brain's unconscious ability to filter out visual movement. The study shows that individuals whose ...

Researchers find common childhood asthma unconnected to allergens or inflammation

Little is known about why asthma develops, how it constricts the airway or why response to treatments varies between patients. Now, a team of researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College, Columbia University Medical Center ...