Radon Exposure—Therapeutic Effect and Cancer Risk
1
Biophysics Department, GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, 64291 Darmstadt, Germany
2
Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, 60590 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
3
Translational Radiation Biology, Department of Radiation Oncology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(1), 316; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22010316
Received: 18 November 2020 / Revised: 22 December 2020 / Accepted: 24 December 2020 / Published: 30 December 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Radiation in Multimodal Tumor Immune Therapies – Mechanisms and Application)
Largely unnoticed, all life on earth is constantly exposed to low levels of ionizing radiation. Radon, an imperceptible natural occurring radioactive noble gas, contributes as the largest single fraction to radiation exposure from natural sources. For that reason, radon represents a major issue for radiation protection. Nevertheless, radon is also applied for the therapy of inflammatory and degenerative diseases in galleries and spas to many thousand patients a year. In either case, chronic environmental exposure or therapy, the effect of radon on the organism exposed is still under investigation at all levels of interaction. This includes the physical stage of diffusion and energy deposition by radioactive decay of radon and its progeny and the biological stage of initiating and propagating a physiologic response or inducing cancer after chronic exposure. The purpose of this manuscript is to comprehensively review the current knowledge of radon and its progeny on physical background, associated cancer risk and potential therapeutic effects.
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Keywords:
radon therapy; low doses; α-particles; clinical studies; anti-inflammatory effects; changes immune activation; osteoimmunological changes
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MDPI and ACS Style
Maier, A.; Wiedemann, J.; Rapp, F.; Papenfuß, F.; Rödel, F.; Hehlgans, S.; Gaipl, U.S.; Kraft, G.; Fournier, C.; Frey, B. Radon Exposure—Therapeutic Effect and Cancer Risk. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22, 316.
AMA Style
Maier A, Wiedemann J, Rapp F, Papenfuß F, Rödel F, Hehlgans S, Gaipl US, Kraft G, Fournier C, Frey B. Radon Exposure—Therapeutic Effect and Cancer Risk. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2021; 22(1):316.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaier, Andreas; Wiedemann, Julia; Rapp, Felicitas; Papenfuß, Franziska; Rödel, Franz; Hehlgans, Stephanie; Gaipl, Udo S.; Kraft, Gerhard; Fournier, Claudia; Frey, Benjamin. 2021. "Radon Exposure—Therapeutic Effect and Cancer Risk" Int. J. Mol. Sci. 22, no. 1: 316.
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