Radiation Leukemogenesis: Applying Basic Science of Epidemiological Estimates of Low Dose Risks and Dose-Rate Effects

The next stage of work has been to examine more closely the A-bomb leukemia data which provides the underpinnings of the risk estimation of CML in the above mentioned manuscript. The paper by Hoel and Li (Health Physics 75:241-50) shows how the linear-quadratic model has basic non-linearities at the low dose region for the leukemias including CML. Pierce et. al., (Radiation Research 123:275-84) have developed distributions for the uncertainty in the estimated exposures of the A-bomb cohort. Kellerer, et. al., (Radiation and Environmental Biophysics 36:73-83) has further considered possible errors in the estimated neutron values and with changing RBE values with dose and has hypothesized that the tumor response due to gamma may not be linear. We have incorporated his neutron model and have constricted new A-bomb doses based on his model adjustments. The Hoel and Li dose response analysis has also been applied using the Kellerer neutron dose adjustments for the leukemias. Finally, both Pierce's dose uncertainties and Kellerer neutron adjustments are combined as well as the varying RBE with dose as suggested by Rossi and Zaider and used for leukemia dose-response analysis. First the results of Hoel and Li showing a significantly improved fit of the linear-quadratic dosemore » response by the inclusion of a threshold (i.e. low-dose nonlinearity) persisted. This work has been complete for both solid tumor as well as leukemia for both mortality as well as incidence data. The results are given in the manuscript described below which has been submitted to Health Physics.« less