Does ionizing radiation lead to activation of oncogenes

Attention has been focused on the action of ionizing radiation on genes (DNA), this being a critical first step in radiation carcinogenesis. Here, experiments have been carried out where isolated BALB/c DNA in solution was subjected to different doses of gamma radiation and subsequently assayed by means of the NIH transfection system. At doses higher than 3 Gy, a rapid loss of focus formation was found. However, with doses between 0.3 and 1 Gy, focus formation was consistently higher, e.g., by about a factor of two, than with DNA that was not irradiated. (Auth.)