title: Synergistic effect of radon in blood cells of smokers - an in vitro study.
abstract: Epidemiological studies indicate that the risk of lung cancer among smokers increases with exposure to residential radon. The present study aimed to investigate the synergetic effect between smoking and radon. Blood samples from smokers and non-smokers were exposed to different concentrations of radon ranging from 0 to 189MBq/m(3) corresponding to doses ranging from 0.2 to 15.2mGy. Chromosome aberrations in first division metaphase preparations were scored. The frequency of dicentrics in radon-exposed smoker cells was found to be higher than non-smokers by factor of 3.8. The present study is the first of its kind to investigate the interaction of radon and smoking sans confounding factors, as smoker cells were exposed in vitro to radon.
authors.affiliation: Radiological Safety Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam 603102, Tamilnadu, India.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Meenakshi
authors.forename: Mary N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Mohankumar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor; D001773:Blood Cells / Q000187:drug effects*; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations / Q000528:radiation effects; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011886:Radon / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D011886:Radon
keywords: Chromosome aberrations; DNA damage; Radon; Smokers; Synergistic effect