Impact on Radiogenic Cancer Risk of Persons Exhibiting Abnormal Sensitivity to Ionizing Radiation

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Abstract
Human genotypes are known “that confer both increased susceptibility or resistance to DNA damage and increased cancer risk after exposure to carcinogenic agents, including ionizing radiation” (NAS 1980). The existence of sensitive subgroups at elevated risk, if they are of appreciable size, could have significant impact on the actual distribution of risk. The radiosensitive disorder ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) serves as a good example: the significant “at risk” group, A-T heterozygotes, is estimated to comprise between 0.5% and 5% of the total population, and has a twofold elevated lifetime risk of fatal neoplasia. Other genetic syndromes that manifest abnormal radiosensitivity are also known, but no estimates are available for the population frequency of all such phenotypes, or for their overall degree of increased risk. As the first part of a program addressing these questions, we have developed a rapid and inexpensive assay for screening members of the general population for abnormal radiosensitivity; such persons would be regarded as at presumptive elevated risk of radiogenic cancer. Our method utilizes lymphoblastoid cell lines and chronic as opposed to acute gamma-ray exposure to amplify the difference between normal and somewhat sensitive strains. A simple “grow-back” assay assesses the survival response. Information on the extent of natural variation in inherited suscepribility to radiogenic cancers could be most useful for radiation protection in the future.

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