Panchenko , A. V., Popovich , I. G., Fedoros , E. I., & Pigarev, S. E. (2025). Carcinogenic Risk in the Offspring of Preconceptionally Irradiated Mammals: A Systematic Review. Voprosy Onkologii, 71(2), OF–2193. https://doi.org/10.37469/0507-3758-2025-71-2-OF-2193

Abstract

Introduction. The phenomenon of transgenerational effects of ionizing radiation has been studied for several decades. One of the possible consequences of parental irradiation may be an affected frequency and spectrum of malignant neoplasms in the offspring. A small number of experimental and epidemiological studies have been published on this subject. The aim of this review was to determine the effect of pre-conceptional paternal and maternal irradiation on the development of tumor pathology in offspring.

Materials and methods. A search was performed in the PubMed and eLIBRARY.RU databases without date restrictions using the terms: "transgenerational carcinogenesis", "radiation carcinogenesis" in eLIBRARY.RU and "transgeneration" AND "irradiation" in PubMed, yielding a total of 236 records. After an initial review of titles and abstracts, 161 were excluded. A total of 75 studies were selected for detailed analysis, of which 63 were excluded according to the criteria, including 1 study with duplicate results and 22 review publications. An additional search of the reference lists of the reviews was conducted and a further 18 eligible publications were identified. A total of 30 publications were subjected to a systematic review.

Results. In general, studies of morbidity in the offspring of irradiated humans have shown no significant health risks. However, experiments in mice suggest an increased risk of carcinogenesis in the offspring of irradiated animals, both spontaneous and induced by an additional hit.

Conclusion. Overall, the epidemiological data in humans and the experimental data in mice do not exclude the possibility that germ line exposure to ionising radiation may cause weak direct oncogenic effects and may also be associated with hypersensitivity of the offspring to subsequent postnatal carcinogenic exposure.

https://doi.org/10.37469/0507-3758-2025-71-2-OF-2193

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