A peer-reviewed journal published by K. N. Toosi University of Technology

Investigating the impact of radon therapy in water and air on the population density of stem cells

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Department of Nuclear Engineering, Faculty of Modern Sciences and Technologies, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran

Abstract
Despite the established negative effects of radon on lung and skin cancers, radon therapy has historically been considered a potential treatment for various skin and respiratory diseases. In this study, the impact of such therapy on the population density of hematopoietic stem cells, including both WT and Lnk types, which are crucial for regenerative medicine, was investigated. MCNPX simulations were used to perform dosimetry for radon in a MIRD phantom. The calculated dose rates for both air and water were integrated into a stem cell differential equation, which was solved using the robust fourth-order Runge-Kutta method to model changes over a four-day period. It was shown that the radon dose reduces the population density of stem cells. This minimal reduction suggests that low-dose radon exposure does not have a destructive effect on stem cells, but rather a tolerable one. By the end of day 4, the stem cell density was observed to have decreased by 12.33% in the air environment and 2.65% in the water environment, suggesting a more pronounced effect in the air scenario.

Highlights

  • Investigation of radon’s impact on stem cell population density using MCNPX and the 4th order Runge-Kutta method.
  • Simulation of radon dosimetry in a MIRD phantom to study its effects on organs.
  • Reduction of 2.65% in air and 12.33% in water in stem cell density observed after 4 days of radon exposure.
  • Application of radon therapy as a potential treatment for skin and lung diseases despite its carcinogenic effects

Keywords


Copyright
RPE is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Conflict of Interest

‎The authors declare no potential conflict of interest regarding the publication of this work‎.

Funding

‎The authors declare that no funds‎, ‎grants‎, ‎or other financial support were received during the preparation of this manuscript‎.

 

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Volume 6, Issue 4
Autumn 2025
Pages 47-53

  • Receive Date 03 June 2025
  • Revise Date 20 August 2025
  • Accept Date 03 September 2025