Early Effects of Ionizing Radiation on the Collagen Hierarchical Structure of Bladder and Rectum Visualized by Atomic Force Microscopy.

Radiation therapy, widely used in the treatment of a variety of malignancies in the pelvic area, is associated with inevitable damage to the surrounding healthy tissues. We have applied atomic force microscopy (AFM) to track the early damaging effects of ionizing radiation on the collagen structures in the experimental animals' bladder and rectum. The first signs of the low-dose radiation (2 Gy) effect were detected by AFM as early as 1 week postirradiation.