Radiation-induced cancer

Radiation-induced cancer first occurred in a radiology technologist over a hundred years This chapter discusses radiation-induced cancer and covers molecular mechanisms of radiation carcinogenesis, cancer mortality and cancer incidence in relation to the Japanese A-bomb survivor lifespan study, Chernobyl, patients treated with radiotherapy for non-cancer diseases, Radon exposure, and second cancers after cancer therapy (including prostate, breast, Hodgkin lymphoma, and paediatric malignancies). Patients infrequently now receive radiotherapy alone. Studies in patients treated as children with chemotherapy plus radiotherapy demonstrate that both treatment modalities increase the risk of secondary malignancy in cured patients. Therefore, the risk of cancer induced by the combination of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and novel molecular agents need to be closely watched in future.