[ RadSafe ] Radiation exposure poses similar risk of first and second cancers in atomic bomb survivors

[Clayton J Bradt]

The blurb doesn't say, but I assume they mean 1088 additional cancers above
the background rate of second cancers?


Clayton J. Bradt
Principal Radiophysicist
NYS Dept. of Health
Biggs Laboratory, Room D486A
Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12201-0509

518-474-1993



> Message: 3
> Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2010 22:44:50 -0700 (PDT)
> From: ROY HERREN <royherren2005 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: [ RadSafe ] Radiation exposure poses similar risk of first
>    and   second cancers in atomic bomb survivors
> To: radsafe at agni.phys.iit.edu
> Message-ID: <970962.86191.qm at web80202.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
>
> Public release date: 15-Sep-2010
> Contact: Kristen Woodward
> kwoodwar at fhcrc.org
> 206-667-5095
> Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
>
> Radiation exposure poses similar risk of first and second cancers in
> atomic bomb
> survivors
> First large-scale study to assess how radiation influences risk of
multiple
> cancers
> SEATTLE ? It is well known that exposure to radiation has multiple
harmful
> effects ? including causing cancer ? but until now, it has been
> unclear to what
> extent such exposure increases a person's risk of developing more than
one
> cancer.
> The first large-scale study of the relationship between radiation
> dose and risk
> of multiple cancers among atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima and
> Nagasaki, Japan
> reveals a similar risk in the development of first and second subsequent
> cancers.
> Christopher I. Li, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues at Fred Hutchinson Cancer
> Research Center led the study in collaboration with investigators at the
> Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and
> the National
> Cancer Institute. The results appear in the Sept. 15 issue of
CancerResearch.
> "We found that radiation exposure increased the risks of first and second

> cancers to a similar degree," said first author Li, a breast cancer
> epidemiologist and member of the Public Health Sciences Division at the
> Hutchinson Center. "People exposed to radiation who developed cancer
> also had a
> high risk of developing a second cancer, and the risk was similar
> for both solid
> tumors and leukemias in both men and women, regardless of age at exposure
or
> duration between first and second primary cancers," he said.
>
> The association between radiation exposure and risk of second cancers was

> particularly significant for radiation-sensitive cancers, such as
> those of the
> lung, colon, breast, thyroid and bladder, as well as leukemia.
> For the study, the researchers analyzed data from participants in
> the Life Span
> Study, a group of atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki who
were
> followed from 1950, five years after the bombings, to 2002, the most
> recent year
> through which Hiroshima and Nagasaki cancer registry data were complete.
The
> study followed 10,031 primary cancer survivors, among whom 1,088 went on
to
> develop second primary cancers.
> Stomach, lung, liver and female breast cancers were the most
> commonly diagnosed
> first and second primary cancers.
> "Our findings suggest that cancer survivors with a history of
> radiation exposure
> should continue to be carefully monitored for second cancers," Li said.
>
> In addition to clinical implications for cancer patients and others
> exposed to
> significant amounts of radiation, such research is essential to
developing
> radiation protection limits and standards for occupational
> exposures, as well as
> planning for the consequences of widespread radiation exposure in the
general
> population in the event of a nuclear accident, nuclear war or "dirty
bomb"
> terrorist attack.
> "We greatly appreciate having the opportunity to conduct this
uniqueresearch
> with our Japanese colleagues who, through innumerable publications,
> have truly
> transformed the tragedy of the atomic bombings to fundamental scientific
> advancements that have impacted radiation protection standards and
policies
> worldwide," Li said.
> ###
> The Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) in Japan is a private,
> nonprofit foundation funded by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour
and
> Welfare and the U.S. Department of Energy through the National Academy of

> Sciences. RERF funded this research along with the National Cancer
> Institute and
> the National Institutes of Health Division of Cancer Epidemiology
> and Genetics.
> At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, our interdisciplinary teams of

> world-renowned scientists and humanitarians work together to
> prevent, diagnose
> and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Our researchers,
> including three
> Nobel laureates, bring a relentless pursuit and passion for health,
knowledge
> and hope to their work and to the world. www.fhcrc.org
>
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