Low-dose environmental radiation, DNA damage, and cancer: The possible contribution of psychological factors

Abstract

Radiation causes DNA damage, increases risk of cancer, and is associated with psychological stress responses. This article proposes an evidence-based integrative model in which psychological factors could interact with radiation by either augmenting or moderating the adverse effects of radiation on DNA integrity and eventual tumorigenesis. Based on a review of the literature, we demonstrate the following: (1) the effects of low-dose radiation exposures on DNA integrity and on tumorigenesis; (2) the effects of low-dose radiation exposure on psychological distress; (3) the relationship between psychological factors and DNA damage; and (4) the possibility that psychological stress augments and that psychological resource variables moderate radiation-induced DNA damage and risk of cancer. The additional contribution of psychological processes to radiation–DNA damage–cancer relationships needs further study, and if verified, has clinical implications.

Keywords:

• environmental radiation
• psychological stress
• DNA damage
• cancer
• psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)