Radiation carcinogenesis in dogs irradiated during prenatal and postnatal development

To evaluate the lifetime hazards of ionizing radiation exposure, 1680 beagles received whole-body, 60-Cobalt gamma exposures or sham-exposures during development. Eight groups of 120 dogs each received mean doses of 16 or 83 cGy at 8 (preimplantation), 28 (embryonic), or 55 (late fetal) days postcoitus (dpc), or 2 (neonatal) days postpartum (dpp). One group of 120 dogs received 83 cGy at 70 dpp (juvenile), and one group of 240 dogs received 83 cGy at 365 dpp (young adult). Sham-irradiations were delivered to 360 controls. Sexes were equally represented. Young dogs, up to 4 years of age, had an increase in benign and malignant neoplasms after irradiation in the perinatal period at 55 dpc or 2 dpp. Among these, 4 fatal cancers were observed. No malignancies occurred in comparably-aged controls. The increase in both fatal neoplasms and all neoplasms in the perinatally-exposed groups were statistically significant. Over the full lifetime, dogs irradiated in the perinatal period also had the strongest evidence for an increased risk for fatal malignancies of all types. Though not as strong, there was a trend for increased risk for fatal cancer in dogs irradiated at all other ages. The risk of fatal malignancy after irradiation was greater in females than in males. Dogs exposed at 55 dpc had a significant increase in lymphoid neoplasia and dogs exposed at 8 and 55 dpc had increased risk for hemangiosarcoma. There was no evidence for an increased risk for mammary carcinoma in irradiated females. Dogs exposed as juveniles at 70 dpp had a significant increase in all benign and malignant thyroid neoplasms, including fatal thyroid carcinoma.