title: The effects of radiation and dose-fractionation on cancer and non-tumor disease development.
abstract: The Janus series of radiation experiments, conducted from 1970 to 1992, explored the effects of gamma and neutron radiation on animal lifespan and disease development. Data from these experiments presents an opportunity to conduct a large scale analysis of both tumor and non-tumor disease development. This work was focused on a subset of animals from the Janus series of experiments, comparing acute or fractionated exposures of gamma or neutron radiation on the hazards associated with the development of tumor and non-tumor diseases of the liver, lung, kidney or vascular system. This study also examines how the co-occurrence of non-tumor diseases may affect tumor-associated hazards. While exposure to radiation increases the hazard of dying with tumor and non-tumor diseases, dose fractionation modulates these hazards, which varies across different organ systems. Finally, the effect that concurrent non-cancer diseases have on the hazard of dying with a tumor also differs by organ system. These results highlight the complexity in the effects of radiation on the liver, lung, kidney and vascular system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. wliu@u.northwestern.edu
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Benjamin M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Haley
authors.forename: Mary J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kwasny
authors.forename: Jian-Jian
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Grdina
authors.forename: Tatjana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Paunesku
authors.forename: Gayle E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Woloschak
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018450:Disease Progression; D019583:Dose Fractionation, Radiation; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D005260:Female; D005720:Gamma Rays / Q000009:adverse effects*; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009381:Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D009502:Neutrons / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011833:Radiation Injuries, Experimental / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D018570:Risk Assessment