Lifetime increased cancer risk in mice following exposure to clinical proton beam-generated neutrons.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

To evaluate the life span and risk of cancer following whole-body exposure of mice to neutrons generated by a passively scattered clinical spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP) proton beam.

Methods and materials

Three hundred young adult female FVB/N mice, 152 test and 148 control, were entered into the experiment. Mice were placed in an annular cassette around a cylindrical phantom, which was positioned lateral to the mid-SOBP of a 165-MeV, clinical proton beam. The average distance from the edge of the mid-SOBP to the conscious active mice was 21.5 cm. The phantom was irradiated with once-daily fractions of 25 Gy, 4 days per week, for 6 weeks. The age at death and cause of death (ie, cancer and type vs noncancer causes) were assessed over the life span of the mice.

Resul

SUBMITTER: Gerweck LE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4298825 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature