Radiation Protection Dosimetry 45:635-638 (1992)
© 1992 Oxford University Press
A Dose Rate Model Predicting Radon-Induced Lung Cancer Risk in Rats
The laboratory rat has been used in inhalation studies as a surrogate to estimate human lung cancer risk following exposure to ambient radon progeny. Deposition, mucociliary clearance and dosimetry for the inhalation of radon progeny in the rat lung have been simulated for a variety of inhalation conditions. A state-vector model for radiation carcinogenesis has then been applied to predict the carcinogenic risk in the rat lung for different doses and dose rates. The model is based on the concepts of initiation and promotion, with the irradiation acting both to damage intercellular structures and to change the state of cells surrounding an initiated cell. Predicted lung cancer incidences show fair agreement with the experimental data. Consistent with the experimental evidence is the inverse dose rate effect observed for intermediate cumulative exposures.