Ionizing radiation is a well-known carcinogen, and is listed as one carcinogenic agent of occupational cancer. Given the increase in the number of workers exposed to radiation, as well as the increase in concern regarding occupational cancer, the number of radiation-related occupational cancer claims is expected to increase. Unlike exposure assessment of other carcinogenic agents in the workplace, such as asbestos and benzene, radiation exposure is usually assessed on an individual basis with personal dosimeters, which makes it feasible to assess whether a worker’s cancer occurrence is associated with their individual exposure. However, given the absence of a threshold dose for cancer initiation, it remains difficult to identify radiation exposure as the root cause of occupational cancer. Moreover, the association between cancer and radiation exposure in the workplace has not been clearly established due to a lack of scientific evidence. Therefore, criteria for the recognition of radiation-related occupational cancer should be carefully reviewed and updated with new scientific evidence and social consensus. The current criteria in Korea are valid in terms of eligible radiogenic cancer sites, adequate latent period, assessment of radiation exposure, and probability of causation. However, reducing uncertainty with respect to the determination of causation between exposure and cancer and developing more specific criteria that considers mixed exposure to radiation and other carcinogenic agents remains an important open question.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by  

• Predictive DNA damage signaling for low‑dose ionizing radiation
  Jeong-In Park, Seung-Youn Jung, Kyung-Hee Song, Dong-Hyeon Lee, Jiyeon Ahn, Sang-Gu Hwang, In-Su Jung, Dae-Seog Lim, Jie-Young Song
  International Journal of Molecular Medicine.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Fuzzy-Based Bioengineering System for Predicting and Diagnosing Diseases of the Nervous System Triggered by the Interaction of Industrial Frequency Electromagnetic Fields
  Nikolay Aleexevich Korenevskiy, Riad Taha Al-Kasasbeh, Evgenia A. Krikunova, Sofia N. Rodionova, Ashraf Shaqdan, Osama M. Al-Habahbeh, Sergey Filist, Mahdi Salman Alshamasin, Mohammad S. Khrisat, Maksim Ilyash
  Critical Reviews in Biomedical Engineering.2024; 52(5): 1.     CrossRef
• INTENSITY OF OXIDATIVE PROCESSES IN BLOOD AND LEVEL OF APOPTOSIS IN BLOOD LYMPHOCYTES IN RADIOLOGISTS/X-RAY TECHNOLOGIES EXPOSED TO SMALL DOSES OF IONIZING RADIATION
  O. A. Glavin, E. A. Domina, V. S. Ivankova, V. M. Mikhailenko, L. I. Makovetska, T. V. Khrulenko, M. O. Druzhyna
  Проблеми радіаційної медицини та радіобіології = Problems of Radiation Medicine and Radiobiology.2023; 28: 191.     CrossRef
• Dose-Response Effects of Low-Dose Ionizing Radiation on Blood Parameters in Industrial Irradiation Workers
  Jia-jia Guo, Ning Liu, Zheng Ma, Zi-jun Gong, Yue-lang Liang, Qi Cheng, Xin-guang Zhong, Zhen-jiang Yao
  Dose-Response.2022; 20(2): 155932582211056.     CrossRef
• Assessment of risks for breast cancer in a flight attendant exposed to night shift work and cosmic ionizing radiation: a case report
  Dong Joon Park, Sungkyun Park, Seong Won Ma, Hoekyeong Seo, Sang Gil Lee, Kyung-Eun Lee
  Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.2022;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Problem of the Relationship of the Developed Oncological Disease with Radiation in Conditions of Production
  I. Galstyan, V. Nugis, F. Torubarov, B. Kukhta, M. Konchalovsky, A. Kretov, A. Bushmanov
  Medical Radiology and radiation safety.2021; 65(6): 76.     CrossRef
• Effects of exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation on changing platelets: a prospective cohort study
  Ning Liu, Yang Peng, Xinguang Zhong, Zheng Ma, Suiping He, Ying Li, Wencui Zhang, Zijun Gong, Zhenjiang Yao
  Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine.2021;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Demographic and onco-epidemiological situation in radioactive contaminated territory of Zhytomyr Oblast
  L. O. Herasymchuk, G. M. Martenyuk, R. A. Valerko, M. M. Kravchuk
  Regulatory Mechanisms in Biosystems.2019; 10(1): 32.     CrossRef
• Acute radiation syndrome in a non-destructive testing worker: a case report
  Ji-Sung Ahn, Jai-Dong Moon, Wonyang Kang, Hyeong-Min Lim, Seunghyeon Cho, Dae-Young Lim, Won-Ju Park
  Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.2018;[Epub]     CrossRef
• DNA damage response in workers exposed to low-dose ionising radiation
  Simona Gaetani, Federica Monaco, Massimo Bracci, Veronica Ciarapica, Giulia Impollonia, Matteo Valentino, Marco Tomasetti, Lory Santarelli, Monica Amati
  Occupational and Environmental Medicine.2018; 75(10): 724.     CrossRef