Considerations on the use of the terms radiosensitivity and radiosusceptibility
The separate use of the terms ‘radiosensitivity’ and ‘radiosusceptibility’ has been suggested to
describe variability in the risk of, respectively, adverse tissue reactions (deterministic effect)
following radiotherapy and radiation-induced cancer (stochastic effect). The aim of this note is to
present arguments against such distinction. We feel that it is premature to make a concrete final
judgement on these definitions because of the limited understanding of the mechanisms underlying
individual sensitivity to both radiation-related cancers and radiation-related tissue injury.
Moreover, the exclusive application of ‘radiosensitivity’ in relation to deterministic effects and
the term ‘radiosusceptibility’ in relation to cancer carries the risk of being wrongly interpreted
as evidence for a high, genetically driven sensitivity to radiation in all patients who develop
adverse tissue reactions and a high genetic susceptibility to cancer in those who develop
radiation-induced malign...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - Category: Physics Authors: Andrzej Wojcik, Simon Bouffler, Michael Hauptmann and Preetha Rajaraman Source Type: research