Radon and lung cancer: Assessing and mitigating the risk

Abstract

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas. Its progenies emit alpha particles capable of causing tissue damage. Radon exposure is estimated to be the second most common cause of lung cancer in the United States. Management of patients with a history of radon exposure should involve a lung cancer specialist.

Down-regulation of let-7 microRNA increased K-ras expression in lung damage induced by radon

“…Although lung cancer induced by radon has been confirmed by epidemiology studies (Choi and Mazzone, 2014;Melloni, 2014;Edwards et al, 2014), the role of K-ras gene in radon carcinogenesis is not yet identified. In this study, increased mRNA and protein level of K-ras in rats of the 200 and 400 WLM group were found with accumulative doses of radon exposure, and similar results were also observed in HBE cells after exposure to radon for different cell passages.…”

“…Radon, a decay product of uranium 238 and thorium 232, is the second risk factor leading to lung cancer (Choi and Mazzone, 2014;WHO, 2009). Both epidemiological studies and animal experiments have shown that exposure to radon contributes to high incidence of lung cancer (Chen et al, 2012;Lubin et al, 1995).…”

Lung Cancer: Risk Factors, Management, And Prognosis

“…The radiation products ionize genetic material causing mutations that sometimes turn cancerous. Radon is the second-most common cause of lung cancer in the USA [58],causing about 21,000 deaths each year [59].The risk increases 8-16% for every 100Bq/m 3 increase in the radon concentration [60].Radon gas levels vary by locality and the composition of the soil and rocks. About one in 15 homes has radon levels above the recommended guidelines of picocuries per liter(pCi/l)(148Bq/m 3 ) [61].…”

Study and Search for Main Reason of Lung Cancers Based on Cherenkov Radiation in Environmental Radiation

“…The risk of lung cancer was estimated to increase by 8 to 13% per every 100 Bq m −3 concentration in the air, thus showing the strong possibility of decease causing due to inhalation. This result was extracted from the relation between the patient rate and the radon concentration in the North American, European, and Chinese [5]. Thus, the inhalation of radon is a strong candidate for the occurring of the lung cancer in the nature.…”