Ionizing radiation and breast cancer in men (United States)

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to determine whether exposure of the vestigial male breast to ionizing radiation is associated with an increase in risk of breast cancer and, if so, to determine whether the apparent effects on risk in men are similar to those reported for women. A population-based case-control study of breast cancer in men was conducted in 10 geographic areas of the United States. Information on possible prior exposure to ionizing radiation, and on other potential risk factors for breast cancer, was obtained from personal interviews of 227 cases and 300 controls who were recruited from October 1983 to September 1986. Evidence from this study that ionizing radiation can cause breast cancer in men includes: a modest trend of increasing risk with frequency of chest X-rays; an increase in risk in men with three or more radiographic examinations, especially if received prior to 1963; and an increase in risk in men who received X-ray treatments to the chest and adjacent body areas. Risk was increased only from 20 to 35 years after initial exposure from either radiographic examinations or X-ray treatments, and declined after three to four decades since last exposure, suggesting a wave of increased risk of finite duration following exposure. The doses of radiation received could not be estimated precisely, but those from diagnostic procedures were likely similar to those received by prepubertal females in prior studies, and the results of those and the present investigation are compatible. The carcinogenic effects of ionizing radiation may be similar in the male and prepubertal female breast.

Signatures of post-zygotic structural genetic aberrations in the cells of histologically normal breast tissue that can predispose to sporadic breast cancer

“…Our analysis represents a snapshot picture of a progressive process that is likely going on for many years, if not decades, eventually producing clinically and/or radiologically detectable PT(s). This assumption of a long latency time of SCB studied here should be viewed in the perspective of the estimated latency time for radiation-induced breast cancer, that is, 10-30 yr (Thomas et al 1994;Goss and Sierra 1998;Olsson et al 2003).…”

Mouse Models for Efficacy Testing of Agents against Radiation Carcinogenesis — A Literature Review

“…Ionizing radiation is a well-established etiological agent of both rodent and human breast cancer [190,203,228,229,230,231,232,233]. Despite the fact that mammary cancer mouse models are somewhat dissimilar from human breast cancers—low frequency of hormonal dependence of the tumor and carcinomas originating in the alveolar tissue—they are nonetheless valuable in studying chemotherapeutic preventative and therapeutic agents in addition to modeling the underlying molecular pathology [230].…”

Relation between the rate of tumour cell proliferation and latency time in radiation associated breast cancer

“…Our preliminary results indicate that by using the SPF it would be possible in larger materials to predict latency time and that the median latency time maybe as long as 22 years. In men with possible radiation induced breast cancer a possible latency time of 30–40 years have been suggested [4]. Also a minimum latency time of 8 years has been suggested out from radiation exposure studies and breast cancer [5].…”