Modern View of the Problem of Radiation Carcinogenesis

Abstract

Summary. Genetic and epigenetic determinants of radiation carcinogenesis are presented. Unlike genetic ones, changes arising from epigenetic modifications are potentially reversible. An increase in the power and dose of ionizing radiation leads to a decrease in the promoter and an increase in the initiating function of radiation in the development of radiation carcinogenesis. The problem of radiation carcinogenesis consists in understanding the mechanisms of action of radiation in small doses on the human genome. Small doses of absorbed radiation are statistically significant factors of increased risk of cancer. Preservation of the dose-effect relationship for radiochromosomal markers in the blood of liquidators with oncological pathology in the long term after the Chernobyl accident confirms the radiogenic nature of these diseases. Processes of various types of repair that eliminate radiation-induced DNA damage are discussed. The formation of the “bystander effect”, which is an important mechanism of radiation-induced instability of the genome, increases the carcinogenic risk in the area of action of small doses of ionizing radiation.