Problems of Radiation Medicine and Radiobiology

Radiation-induced instability of human genome

N. Ryabchenko, E. Domina
R.E. Kavetsky Institute of Experimental Pathology, Oncology and Radiobiology of NAS of Ukraine,45 Vasylkivska str., Kyiv, 03022, Ukraine

A brief review is dedicated to the phenomenon of radiation-induced genomic instability where the increased level of genomic changes in the offspring of irradiated cells is characteristic. Particular attention is paid to the problems of genomic instability induced by the low-dose radiation, role of the bystander effect in formation of radiation-induced instability, and its relationship with individual radiosensitivity. We believe that in accordance with the paradigm of modern radiobiology the increased human individual radiosensitivity can be formed due to the genome instability onset and is a significant risk factor for radiation-induced cancer.

Key words: genomic instability, ionizing radiation, chromosomal instability, radiation-induced carcinogenesis, human individual radiosensitivity.

Problems of radiation medicine and radiobiology. 2014;19:48-58.