The loss of genetic material may result in a predisposition to malignant disease. The best studied example is retinoblastoma where deletion or transcriptional inactivation of a specific gene is associated with the development of the tumor. When hereditary retinoblastoma patients are treated with radiation, the incidence of osteosarcoma within the treatment field is extremely high compared to other cancer patients treated with radiotherapy. These data, together with cytogenetic and molecular data on the development of acute non-lymphocytic leukemia secondary to radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment suggest that radiation-induced deletions of critical DNA sequences may be an important event in radiation carcinogenesis. Therefore, we propose that radiation-induced tumors may result from deletion of tissue specific regulatory genes. Base alterations caused by radiation in dominantly transforming oncogenes may also contribute to radiation carcinogenesis.