title: [Radiosensitivity: evidence of an individual factor].
abstract: What more natural than a stress response that would vary among individuals? The individual factor has been pointed out in numerous medical research areas, was alluded to in the antiquity under the term "idiosyncrasy" and used by Claude Bernard in the 19th century. The idea that each individual shows a specific response to radiation, as he does for any stress, is well-accepted. However, the history of radiobiology shows that this idea has been neglected. Today, it comes back in the debates of personalized medicine and in the evaluation of the risks of adverse reactions post-radiotherapy and of developing cancers linked to medical exposures.
authors.affiliation: Inserm, UMR 1052, Groupe de Radiobiologie, Centre de Recherche sur le Cancer, 28, rue Laennec, 69008 Lyon, France. nicolas.foray@inserm.fr
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Foray
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Colin
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bourguignon
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D009381:Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced; D011836:Radiation Tolerance / Q000235:genetics; D011853:Radiobiology / Q000266:history; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects