Carcinogenesis with heavy-ion radiation in the harderian gland of mice

Heavy-ion radiations with LET values of a few keV/μm and more are capable of producing high yields of harderian gland tumors. The prevalence values for this tumor with heavy-ion radiations cannot, at this time, be distinguished from the results obtained from Fermilab neutrons. All of these radiations, including neutrons, are capable of producing tumor yields far in excess of the yield resulting from gamma-ray exposure. Of special significance is the fact that helium ions, at relatively low LET, appear to be nearly as effective as the other ions; while for most acute biological end points, the helium ions would be expected to be trivially different from 225 kVp x rays, with RBE values close to 1.0. We must conclude that heavy ions have a high carcinogenic potential in the B6CF1 mouse harderian gland promoted with pituitary implants