Do the processes that drive carcinogenesis due to high dose exposures also contribute to low dose radiation carcinogenesis ?

To what extent do heritable factors affect individual radiation cancer risk ?

What is the mathematical model for cancer risk projection that is most consistent with available data and what are the operational consequences ?

Why do 5 to 10 % of cancer patients treated with radiotherapy develop late radiation toxicity, whereas the majority do not?

RISC-RAD members Micheline Giphart-Gassler and Harry Vrieling addressed this question through the study of a cohort of 38 patients successfully treated with radiotherapy for prostate cancer two years previously.

RISC-RAD received on September 1^st 2006 the go-ahead from the European Commission to support ten new two-year collaborative projects addressing the question of low dose cancer risk.

In an article to be published in July 11 issue of Current Biology, the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Ecole Normale Supérieure based in Lyon, France, unveils the function of a new protein they baptize Apollo. The study they report is partly funded within European research project RISC-RAD.

  Throughout our life, we are exposed daily to ionizing radiation (IR) emitted by Earth or during routine medical diagnosis exams. These exposures are considered harmless by radiation protection standards which are based on biological effects the current state of science allows to detect... But how to be sure that what you can not see does not exist? The new results obtained within RISC-RAD which just held its midterm meeting in Leiden, The Netherlands, from 4 to 6 May 2006, show a growing body of evidence that low doses of IR, while doing no harm at all to most people, could induce cancer on those with sensitive genetic background.

The charming Rhine-side city of Bad Honnef, Germany, housed the first annual meeting of RISC-RAD project from 24th to 27th April 2005. A four-day event, it brought together a community of 75 european scientists, 20 % more than for last year’s kick-off meeting in Paris.