Which of the following is NOT evaluated using the absorbed dose?

• A. Hair loss
• B. Diminished sperm count
• C. Cancer
• D. Skin erythema

Answer: (C)

Absorbed dose is used to predict tissue reactions that occur when a tissue receives enough energy to cause damage. Hair loss and skin erythema are classic deterministic effects: they have threshold doses and depend on the absorbed dose to the specific tissue involved. Diminished sperm count is also a tissue-specific deterministic outcome linked to the gonadal absorbed dose.

Cancer, however, is a stochastic effect. Its risk does not correspond to a single tissue’s absorbed dose with a fixed threshold; instead, risk is estimated using effective dose (which combines doses to all tissues with their relative sensitivities) and risk models. Because of this, cancer is not evaluated using the absorbed dose to one tissue, making it the best answer.