Re: Astrocytoma - Sources of information

[RADPROJECT <RADPROJECT@aol.com>]

As a  start check out the site of the American Brain Tumor Association:

http://www.abta.org/index.html

They publish extensive nformation for patients and the public that discusses
the various types of brain tumors and their treatment.

Also check out the web site for the Radium Experiment Assessment Project noted
below which is involved in outreach to individuals treated with nasal radium
irradiation of hypertrophied tonsils and adenoids, and study of the health
effects of Nasal Radium Irradiation (NRI). NRI treatments have  been linked to
a statistically significant [p =0.013] 5.3 fold Relative Risk of astrocytomas
in children according to the BEIR-V Committee's review of brain cancer risk
per a study conducted by Johns Hopkins in 1978-79 of 904 children treated in
Hagerstown, MD (see  Annotated bibliography at web site below: Sandler, 1982;
Sandler, 1980; Matanoski, 1980; NAS, 1990). The treatment was also found to
result in a statistically significant doubling of benign and malignant tumors
of the head and neck p<0.05), and a RR of Graves disease [non-malignant
thyroid disorder, normally considered autoimmune in origin] of 8.6 [p<<0.01].

Per recent reviews by the CDC, between 570,000 and 2.6 million children
received NRI treatments from 1946 to 1961, although the practice extended into
the 1970s in some states like Maryland where it was firmly entrenched in
medical practice. The CDC however does not want to notify the general public
about the various health risks of NRI for reasons that highlight an
inconsistent approarch to radiation protection and public health.

NRI was reviewed as a "human radiation experiment"  by the President's ACHRE
because of its use on 7,613 WWII Army Air Force and Navy submariners and 582
children in an experiment conducted at Johns Hopkins. The radiation dose
delivered to the nasopharynx was at least 2,000 rads, with pituitary doses of
50 to 100 rads in young children. 

The web page which the Radium Experiment Assessment Project has just started
putting together which can be accessed at:

http://www.customforum.com/carsreap

This page contains links to testimony, a number of news articles,  and some
good review articles from the medical literature. 


Stewart Farber, MS Public Health
Director - Radium Experiment Assessment Project
19 Stuart St.
Pawtucket, RI 02860

Phone: (401) 727-4947   Fax: (401) 727-2032   E-mail: radproject@usa.net

The Radium Experiment Assessment Project is a project 
of the Center for Atomic Radiation Studies, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3)
organization. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.