Osteosarcoma, radiation exposure

Gillett NA, Hahn FF, Mewhinney JA, et al. 1985. Osteosarcoma development following single inhalation exposure to americium-241 in beagle dogs. Radiat Res 104 83-93. 

Humans concluded that there was sufficient evidence for the carcinogenicity of soluble calcium chromate and several relatively insoluble hexavalent chromium compounds in laboratory animals. Tumors were mainly induced at the administration site. In addition, experimental exposure to Be, Cd, Ni, and Sb has caused lung tumors in rats, while various beryllium compounds produced osteosarcomas in rabbits by implantation or injection (Hayes 1997). Rossman et al. (2001) could show a co-carcinogenic action of arsenic with solar UV radiation on mouse skin. Apparently strain as well as species differences of the susceptibility to the action of metals may cause variable outcome of carcinogenicity tests for example, in mice this is caused by higher metallo-thionein levels (Oberdorster et al. 1994, Waalkes and Rehm 1994). 

The a-radiation doses to the soft tissues and to skeletal cells at risk for the induction of osteosarcoma suggest that uranium is benign under normal environmental exposure conditions. The a-dose from to the skeletal cells at risk is <1% of the total from long-lived naturally occurring emitters [26]. 

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