gms | German Medical Science

GMDS 2014: 59. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Medizinische Informatik, Biometrie und Epidemiologie e. V. (GMDS)

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Medizinische Informatik, Biometrie und Epidemiologie

07. - 10.09.2014, Göttingen

Big Numbers of Exposed: Radiation and Cancer – what are the risks?

Meeting Abstract

Suche in Medline nach

  • J. Schüz - International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Section of Environment and Radiation, Lyon, France

GMDS 2014. 59. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Medizinische Informatik, Biometrie und Epidemiologie e.V. (GMDS). Göttingen, 07.-10.09.2014. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2014. DocAbstr. Keynote Mi I

doi: 10.3205/14gmds007, urn:nbn:de:0183-14gmds0072

Veröffentlicht: 4. September 2014

© 2014 Schüz.
Dieser Artikel ist ein Open Access-Artikel und steht unter den Creative Commons Lizenzbedingungen (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.de). Er darf vervielfältigt, verbreitet und öffentlich zugänglich gemacht werden, vorausgesetzt dass Autor und Quelle genannt werden.


Gliederung

Text

Exposure to natural and man-made ionising and non-ionising radiation is ubiquitous leading to big numbers of exposed and possibly big public health impact if those exposed would be at higher risk. At present, studies involving big numbers of participants are being conducted. Ionising radiation is one of the most intensely studied carcinogens. Although established as a carcinogen, scientific uncertainty on the magnitude of effects related to protracted low doses of ionising radiation hamper the accurate estimation of the radiation-related cancer burden. IARC is involved in several epidemiological studies of large exposed populations, in particular on children undergoing computed tomography examinations, resident and worker populations exposed to radiation from nuclear accidents, and resident populations exposed to uranium.

Diagnostic X-rays are the largest man-made source of radiation exposure to the general population and numbers of examinations continue to rise. It has been suggested that the attributable risk of diagnostic X-rays in developed countries is as high as 0.5-2% of all cancers, but the calculations involve many assumptions. The ongoing EPI-CT study is collecting data on 1 million children in Europe and is therefore unique because of its size, but also because of its sophisticated dosimetry and taking into account factors which may bias any possible association.

A major source of internalised radionuclides has been the occurrences of nuclear accidents with high exposures of hundred thousands of clean-up workers and nearby residents. The Chernobyl accident showed increased risks of haematological malignancies and thyroid cancer. Cancer risk during adult age following exposure to ionising radiation during the in utero period is analysed in cohorts of the exposed Southern Urals populations of 11,000 persons exposed to radiation from releases of nuclear waste into the Techa river and of 8,000 persons born to workers of the nuclear facility. IARC also held a workshop with colleagues from Fukushima Medical University to discuss which long term studies are needed to establish any cancer risk related to the nuclear accident in 2011.

Non-ionising radiation, especially radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as emitted from mobile phones, were recently classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans. Scientific uncertainty remains, although two large-scale cohort studies in Denmark and the UK comprising together almost 5 million study subjects and a large 13-country case-control study involving 5,000 cases have investigated this question.