Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39222266›Full record

ArticleRadiation and environmental biophysics2024

The scientific nature of the linear no-threshold (LNT) model used in the system of radiological protection.

Andrzej Wojcik, Friedo Zölzer

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Radiation and environmental biophysics, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Radiophobia Harm, Its Main Cause, and a Proposed Solution.Dose-response : a publication of International Hormesis Society
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Andrzej WojcikCentre for Radiation Protection Research, MBW Department, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden. andrzej.wojcik@su.se.ORCID 0000-0002-3951-774X
Friedo ZölzerInstitute of Radiology, Toxicology and Civil Protection, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.ORCID 0000-0003-4046-9287

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

During the first half of the 20th century, it was commonly assumed that radiation-induced health effects occur only when the dose exceeds a certain threshold. This idea was discarded for stochastic effects when more knowledge was gained about the mechanisms of radiation-induced cancer. Currently, a key tenet of the international system of radiological protection is the linear no-threshold (LNT) model where the risk of radiation-induced cancer is believed to be directly proportional to the dose received, even at dose levels where the effects cannot be proven directly. The validity of the LNT approach has been questioned on the basis of a claim that only conclusions that can be verified experimentally or epidemiologically are scientific and LNT should, thus, be discarded because the system of radiological protection must be based on solid science. The aim of this publication is to demonstrate that the LNT concept can be tested in principle and fulfils the criteria of a scientific hypothesis. The fact that the system of radiological protection is also based on ethics does not render it unscientific either. One of the fundamental ethical concepts underlying the LNT model is the precautionary principle. We explain why it is the best approach, based on science and ethics (as well as practical experience), in situations of prevailing uncertainty.

Indexed as

Radiation ProtectionHumansLinear ModelsNeoplasms, Radiation-InducedRadiation DosageRisk AssessmentDose limitationEthical basisICRPLNTLow radiation dosePrecautionary principleRadiological protectionScientific basis

Identifiers

PMID39222266
PMCPMC11588861

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