1
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Little MP, Bazyka D, de Gonzalez AB, Brenner AV, Chumak VV, Cullings HM, Daniels RD, French B, Grant E, Hamada N, Hauptmann M, Kendall GM, Laurier D, Lee C, Lee WJ, Linet MS, Mabuchi K, Morton LM, Muirhead CR, Preston DL, Rajaraman P, Richardson DB, Sakata R, Samet JM, Simon SL, Sugiyama H, Wakeford R, Zablotska LB. A Historical Survey of Key Epidemiological Studies of Ionizing Radiation Exposure. Radiat Res 2024; 202:432-487. [PMID: 39021204 PMCID: PMC11316622 DOI: 10.1667/rade-24-00021.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024]
Abstract
In this article we review the history of key epidemiological studies of populations exposed to ionizing radiation. We highlight historical and recent findings regarding radiation-associated risks for incidence and mortality of cancer and non-cancer outcomes with emphasis on study design and methods of exposure assessment and dose estimation along with brief consideration of sources of bias for a few of the more important studies. We examine the findings from the epidemiological studies of the Japanese atomic bomb survivors, persons exposed to radiation for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes, those exposed to environmental sources including Chornobyl and other reactor accidents, and occupationally exposed cohorts. We also summarize results of pooled studies. These summaries are necessarily brief, but we provide references to more detailed information. We discuss possible future directions of study, to include assessment of susceptible populations, and possible new populations, data sources, study designs and methods of analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark P. Little
- Radiation Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892-9778, USA
- Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Headington Campus, Oxford, OX3 0BP, UK
| | - Dimitry Bazyka
- National Research Center for Radiation Medicine, Hematology and Oncology, 53 Melnikov Street, Kyiv 04050, Ukraine
| | | | - Alina V. Brenner
- Radiation Effects Research Foundation, 5-2 Hijiyama Park, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 732-0815, Japan
| | - Vadim V. Chumak
- National Research Center for Radiation Medicine, Hematology and Oncology, 53 Melnikov Street, Kyiv 04050, Ukraine
| | - Harry M. Cullings
- Radiation Effects Research Foundation, 5-2 Hijiyama Park, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 732-0815, Japan
| | - Robert D. Daniels
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Benjamin French
- Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Eric Grant
- Radiation Effects Research Foundation, 5-2 Hijiyama Park, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 732-0815, Japan
| | - Nobuyuki Hamada
- Biology and Environmental Chemistry Division, Sustainable System Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI), 1646 Abiko, Chiba 270-1194, Japan
| | - Michael Hauptmann
- Institute of Biostatistics and Registry Research, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, 16816 Neuruppin, Germany
| | - Gerald M. Kendall
- Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Richard Doll Building, Old Road Campus, Headington, Oxford, OX3 7LF, UK
| | - Dominique Laurier
- Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety, Fontenay aux Roses France
| | - Choonsik Lee
- Radiation Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892-9778, USA
| | - Won Jin Lee
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Martha S. Linet
- Radiation Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892-9778, USA
| | - Kiyohiko Mabuchi
- Radiation Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892-9778, USA
| | - Lindsay M. Morton
- Radiation Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892-9778, USA
| | | | | | - Preetha Rajaraman
- Radiation Effects Research Foundation, 5-2 Hijiyama Park, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 732-0815, Japan
| | - David B. Richardson
- Environmental and Occupational Health, 653 East Peltason, University California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-3957 USA
| | - Ritsu Sakata
- Radiation Effects Research Foundation, 5-2 Hijiyama Park, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 732-0815, Japan
| | - Jonathan M. Samet
- Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, Colorado, USA
| | - Steven L. Simon
- Radiation Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892-9778, USA
| | - Hiromi Sugiyama
- Radiation Effects Research Foundation, 5-2 Hijiyama Park, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 732-0815, Japan
| | - Richard Wakeford
- Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, The University of Manchester, Ellen Wilkinson Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Lydia B. Zablotska
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 550 16 Street, 2 floor, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
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Jahng JWS, Little MP, No HJ, Loo BW, Wu JC. Consequences of ionizing radiation exposure to the cardiovascular system. Nat Rev Cardiol 2024:10.1038/s41569-024-01056-4. [PMID: 38987578 DOI: 10.1038/s41569-024-01056-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 07/12/2024]
Abstract
Ionizing radiation is widely used in various industrial and medical applications, resulting in increased exposure for certain populations. Lessons from radiation accidents and occupational exposure have highlighted the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risks associated with radiation exposure. In addition, radiation therapy for cancer has been linked to numerous cardiovascular complications, depending on the distribution of the dose by volume in the heart and other relevant target tissues in the circulatory system. The manifestation of symptoms is influenced by numerous factors, and distinct cardiac complications have previously been observed in different groups of patients with cancer undergoing radiation therapy. However, in contemporary radiation therapy, advances in treatment planning with conformal radiation delivery have markedly reduced the mean heart dose and volume of exposure, and these variables are therefore no longer sole surrogates for predicting the risk of specific types of heart disease. Nevertheless, certain cardiac substructures remain vulnerable to radiation exposure, necessitating close monitoring. In this Review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the consequences of radiation exposure on the cardiovascular system, drawing insights from various cohorts exposed to uniform, whole-body radiation or to partial-body irradiation, and identify potential risk modifiers in the development of radiation-associated cardiovascular disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- James W S Jahng
- Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Mark P Little
- Radiation Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
- Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Headington Campus, Oxford, UK
| | - Hyunsoo J No
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Southern California Permanente Medical Group, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Billy W Loo
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Joseph C Wu
- Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Department of Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Greenstone Biosciences, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
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Zablotska LB, Little MP, Hamada N. Revisiting an Inverse Dose-Fractionation Effect of Ionizing Radiation Exposure for Ischemic Heart Disease: Insights from Recent Studies. Radiat Res 2024; 202:80-86. [PMID: 38772552 PMCID: PMC11260496 DOI: 10.1667/rade-00230.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024]
Abstract
Over the last two decades, there has been emerging evidence suggesting that ionizing radiation exposures could be associated with elevated risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD), particularly ischemic heart disease (IHD). Excess CVD risks have been observed in a number of exposed groups, with generally similar risk estimates both at low and high radiation doses and dose rates. In 2014, we reported for the first time significantly higher risks of IHD mortality when radiation doses were delivered over a protracted period of time (an inverse dose-fractionation effect) in the Canadian Fluoroscopy Cohort Study. Here we review the current evidence on the dose-fractionation effect of radiation exposure, discuss potential implication for radiation protection policies and suggest further directions for research in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lydia B Zablotska
- Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Mark P Little
- Radiation Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland; Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Headington Campus, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Nobuyuki Hamada
- Biology and Environmental Chemistry Division, Sustainable System Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI), Chiba, Japan
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Little MP, Boerma M, Bernier MO, Azizova TV, Zablotska LB, Einstein AJ, Hamada N. Effects of confounding and effect-modifying lifestyle, environmental and medical factors on risk of radiation-associated cardiovascular disease. BMC Public Health 2024; 24:1601. [PMID: 38879521 PMCID: PMC11179258 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18701-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/19/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. It has been known for some considerable time that radiation is associated with excess risk of CVD. A recent systematic review of radiation and CVD highlighted substantial inter-study heterogeneity in effect, possibly a result of confounding or modifications of radiation effect by non-radiation factors, in particular by the major lifestyle/environmental/medical risk factors and latent period. METHODS We assessed effects of confounding by lifestyle/environmental/medical risk factors on radiation-associated CVD and investigated evidence for modifying effects of these variables on CVD radiation dose-response, using data assembled for a recent systematic review. RESULTS There are 43 epidemiologic studies which are informative on effects of adjustment for confounding or risk modifying factors on radiation-associated CVD. Of these 22 were studies of groups exposed to substantial doses of medical radiation for therapy or diagnosis. The remaining 21 studies were of groups exposed at much lower levels of dose and/or dose rate. Only four studies suggest substantial effects of adjustment for lifestyle/environmental/medical risk factors on radiation risk of CVD; however, there were also substantial uncertainties in the estimates in all of these studies. There are fewer suggestions of effects that modify the radiation dose response; only two studies, both at lower levels of dose, report the most serious level of modifying effect. CONCLUSIONS There are still large uncertainties about confounding factors or lifestyle/environmental/medical variables that may influence radiation-associated CVD, although indications are that there are not many studies in which there are substantial confounding effects of these risk factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark P Little
- Radiation Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Room 7E546, 9609 Medical Center Drive MSC 9778, Bethesda, MD, 20892-9778, USA.
- Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Headington Campus, Oxford, OX3 0BP, UK.
| | - Marjan Boerma
- Division of Radiation Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
| | - Marie-Odile Bernier
- Institut de Radioprotection et de Sureté Nucléaire, Fontenay Aux Roses, France
| | - Tamara V Azizova
- Clinical Department, Southern Urals Biophysics Institute, Chelyabinsk Region, Ozyorskoe Shosse 19, Ozyorsk, 456780, Russia
| | - Lydia B Zablotska
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, 550 16th St 2nd floor, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Andrew J Einstein
- Seymour, Paul, and Gloria Milstein Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, and Department of Radiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center/New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nobuyuki Hamada
- Biology and Environmental Chemistry Division, Sustainable System Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI), 1646 Abiko, Chiba 270-1194, Japan
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Gentry V, Farkouh A, Chen N, Amasyali AS, Lee J, Srikureja N, Keheila M, Okhunov Z, Baldwin DD. Do Flat Panel Detector C-Arms Decrease Radiation Exposure Compared to Conventional Image Intensifiers? Urology 2024; 185:150-156. [PMID: 38350550 DOI: 10.1016/j.urology.2024.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/15/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To compare the radiation dose and image quality between flat panel detector (FPD) and traditional image intensifier (II) C-arms at their lowest radiation settings. METHODS In a ureteroscopy simulation using a cadaver model, the radiation exposure was compared between FPD and II at 4 pulses-per-second (pps) using both low dose and automatic exposure control (AEC) settings. Additionally, the lowest dose settings for each machine were compared (4 pps with low dose in the FPD and 1 pps with low dose in the II). Five trials of 5 minutes were conducted for each setting. Four new optically stimulated luminescent dosimeters were used in each trial to record radiation exposure. Ten blinded urologists completed a survey rating image quality for each setting. RESULTS When comparing the FPD and II at their lowest possible settings, the FPD produced significantly more radiation (P <.05). Using both machines at 4 pps in low dose mode resulted in no significant difference between C-arms (P >.05). Conversely, operating the C-arms at 4 pps and AEC resulted in significantly higher radiation exposure from the FPD compared to the II (P <.05). There was no significant difference in image quality at each setting. CONCLUSION FPDs produce significantly more radiation at the lowest settings compared to IIs. Surgeons should employ IIs when reducing radiation exposure as low as possible is imperative, such as when operating on pediatric and pregnant patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vance Gentry
- Department of Urology, Loma Linda University Health, Loma Linda, CA
| | - Ala'a Farkouh
- Department of Urology, Loma Linda University Health, Loma Linda, CA
| | - Natalie Chen
- Department of Urology, Loma Linda University Health, Loma Linda, CA
| | - Akin S Amasyali
- Department of Urology, Loma Linda University Health, Loma Linda, CA
| | - Jenna Lee
- Department of Urology, Loma Linda University Health, Loma Linda, CA
| | | | - Mohamed Keheila
- Department of Urology, Loma Linda University Health, Loma Linda, CA
| | - Zhamshid Okhunov
- Department of Urology, Loma Linda University Health, Loma Linda, CA
| | - D Duane Baldwin
- Department of Urology, Loma Linda University Health, Loma Linda, CA.
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Thariat J, Little MP, Zablotska LB, Samson P, O’Banion MK, Leuraud K, Bergom C, Girault G, Azimzadeh O, Bouffler S, Hamada N. Radiotherapy for non-cancer diseases: benefits and long-term risks. Int J Radiat Biol 2024; 100:505-526. [PMID: 38180039 PMCID: PMC11039429 DOI: 10.1080/09553002.2023.2295966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE The discovery of X-rays was followed by a variety of attempts to treat infectious diseases and various other non-cancer diseases with ionizing radiation, in addition to cancer. There has been a recent resurgence of interest in the use of such radiotherapy for non-cancer diseases. Non-cancer diseases for which use of radiotherapy has currently been proposed include refractory ventricular tachycardia, neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer's disease and dementia), and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia, all with ongoing clinical studies that deliver radiation doses of 0.5-25 Gy in a single fraction or in multiple daily fractions. In addition to such non-cancer effects, historical indications predominantly used in some countries (e.g. Germany) include osteoarthritis and degenerative diseases of the bones and joints. This narrative review gives an overview of the biological rationale and ongoing preclinical and clinical studies for radiotherapy proposed for various non-cancer diseases, discusses the plausibility of the proposed biological rationale, and considers the long-term radiation risks of cancer and non-cancer diseases. CONCLUSIONS A growing body of evidence has suggested that radiation represents a double-edged sword, not only for cancer, but also for non-cancer diseases. At present, clinical evidence has shown some beneficial effects of radiotherapy for ventricular tachycardia, but there is little or no such evidence of radiotherapy for other newly proposed non-cancer diseases (e.g. Alzheimer's disease, COVID-19 pneumonia). Patients with ventricular tachycardia and COVID-19 pneumonia have thus far been treated with radiotherapy when they are an urgent life threat with no efficient alternative treatment, but some survivors may encounter a paradoxical situation where patients were rescued by radiotherapy but then get harmed by radiotherapy. Further studies are needed to justify the clinical use of radiotherapy for non-cancer diseases, and optimize dose to diseased tissue while minimizing dose to healthy tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliette Thariat
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Comprehensive Cancer Centre François Baclesse, Caen, France
- Laboratoire de Physique Corpusculaire IN2P3, ENSICAEN/CNRS UMR 6534, Normandie Université, Caen, France
| | - Mark P. Little
- Radiation Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Lydia B. Zablotska
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Pamela Samson
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - M. Kerry O’Banion
- Department of Neuroscience, Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
| | - Klervi Leuraud
- Research Department on Biological and Health Effects of Ionizing Radiation (SESANE), Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
| | - Carmen Bergom
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Cardio-Oncology Center of Excellence, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Gilles Girault
- Comprehensive Cancer Centre François Baclesse, Medical Library, Caen, France
| | - Omid Azimzadeh
- Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS), Section Radiation Biology, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Simon Bouffler
- Radiation Protection Sciences Division, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Chilton, Didcot, UK
| | - Nobuyuki Hamada
- Biology and Environmental Chemistry Division, Sustainable System Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI), Abiko, Chiba, Japan
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Little MP, Azizova TV, Richardson DB, Tapio S, Bernier MO, Kreuzer M, Cucinotta FA, Bazyka D, Chumak V, Ivanov VK, Veiga LHS, Livinski A, Abalo K, Zablotska LB, Einstein AJ, Hamada N. Ionising radiation and cardiovascular disease: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ 2023; 380:e072924. [PMID: 36889791 PMCID: PMC10535030 DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2022-072924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To systematically review and perform a meta-analysis of radiation associated risks of cardiovascular disease in all groups exposed to radiation with individual radiation dose estimates. DESIGN Systematic review and meta-analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Excess relative risk per unit dose (Gy), estimated by restricted maximum likelihood methods. DATA SOURCES PubMed and Medline, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science Core collection databases. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES Databases were searched on 6 October 2022, with no limits on date of publication or language. Animal studies and studies without an abstract were excluded. RESULTS The meta-analysis yielded 93 relevant studies. Relative risk per Gy increased for all cardiovascular disease (excess relative risk per Gy of 0.11 (95% confidence interval 0.08 to 0.14)) and for the four major subtypes of cardiovascular disease (ischaemic heart disease, other heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, all other cardiovascular disease). However, interstudy heterogeneity was noted (P<0.05 for all endpoints except for other heart disease), possibly resulting from interstudy variation in unmeasured confounders or effect modifiers, which is markedly reduced if attention is restricted to higher quality studies or those at moderate doses (<0.5 Gy) or low dose rates (<5 mGy/h). For ischaemic heart disease and all cardiovascular disease, risks were larger per unit dose for lower dose (inverse dose effect) and for fractionated exposures (inverse dose fractionation effect). Population based excess absolute risks are estimated for a number of national populations (Canada, England and Wales, France, Germany, Japan, USA) and range from 2.33% per Gy (95% confidence interval 1.69% to 2.98%) for England and Wales to 3.66% per Gy (2.65% to 4.68%) for Germany, largely reflecting the underlying rates of cardiovascular disease mortality in these populations. Estimated risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease are generally dominated by cerebrovascular disease (around 0.94-1.26% per Gy), with the next largest contribution from ischaemic heart disease (around 0.30-1.20% per Gy). CONCLUSIONS Results provide evidence supporting a causal association between radiation exposure and cardiovascular disease at high dose, and to a lesser extent at low dose, with some indications of differences in risk between acute and chronic exposures, which require further investigation. The observed heterogeneity complicates a causal interpretation of these findings, although this heterogeneity is much reduced if only higher quality studies or those at moderate doses or low dose rates are considered. Studies are needed to assess in more detail modifications of radiation effect by lifestyle and medical risk factors. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION PROSPERO CRD42020202036.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark P Little
- Radiation Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Tamara V Azizova
- Clinical Department, Southern Urals Biophysics Institute, Ozyorsk, Chelyabinsk Region, Russia
| | - David B Richardson
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Irvine Program in Public Health, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Soile Tapio
- Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Marie-Odile Bernier
- Institut de Radioprotection et de Sureté Nucléaire, Fontenay aux Roses, France
| | | | - Francis A Cucinotta
- Department of Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA
| | - Dimitry Bazyka
- National Research Center for Radiation Medicine, National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Vadim Chumak
- National Research Center for Radiation Medicine, National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Victor K Ivanov
- Medical Radiological Research Center of Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Obninsk, Russia
| | - Lene H S Veiga
- Radiation Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Alicia Livinski
- National Institutes of Health Library, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Kossi Abalo
- Department of Medicine Solna, Clinical Epidemiology Division, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Immunology Genetics and Pathology, Cancer Precision Medicine, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Lydia B Zablotska
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Andrew J Einstein
- Seymour, Paul, and Gloria Milstein Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, and Department of Radiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center/New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nobuyuki Hamada
- Biology and Environmental Chemistry Division, Sustainable System Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI), Komae, Tokyo, Japan
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Boice JD, Cohen SS, Mumma MT, Howard SC, Yoder RC, Dauer LT. Mortality among medical radiation workers in the United States, 1965-2016. Int J Radiat Biol 2023; 99:183-207. [PMID: 34731066 DOI: 10.1080/09553002.2021.1967508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Estimates of radiation risks following prolonged exposures at low doses and low-dose rates are uncertain. Medical radiation workers are a major component of the Million Person Study (MPS) of low-dose health effects. Annual personal dose equivalents, HP(10), for individual workers are available to facilitate dose-response analyses for lung cancer, leukemia, ischemic heart disease (IHD) and other causes of death. MATERIALS AND METHODS The Landauer, Inc. dosimetry database identified 109,019 medical and associated radiation workers first monitored 1965-1994. Vital status and cause of death were determined through 2016. Mean absorbed doses to red bone marrow (RBM), lung, heart, and other organs were estimated by adjusting the recorded HP(10) for each worker by scaling factors, accounting for exposure geometry, the energy of the incident photon radiation, sex of the worker and whether an apron was worn. There were 4 exposure scenarios: general radiology characterized by low-energy x-ray exposure with no lead apron use, interventional radiologists/cardiologists who wore aprons, nuclear medicine personnel and radiation oncologists exposed to high-energy photon radiation, and other workers. Standardized mortality ratio (SMR) analyses were performed. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate organ-specific radiation risks. RESULTS Overall, 11,433 deaths occurred (SMR 0.60; 95%CI 0.59,0.61), 126 from leukemia other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), 850 from lung cancer, and 1654 from IHD. The mean duration of monitoring was 23.7 y. The excess relative rate (ERR) per 100 mGy was estimated as 0.10 (95% CI -0.34, 0.54) for leukemia other than CLL, 0.15 (0.02, 0.27) for lung cancer, and -0.10 (-0.27, 0.06) for IHD. The ERR for lung cancer was 0.16 (0.01, 0.32) among the 55,218 male workers and 0.09 (-0.19, 0.36) among the 53,801 female workers; a difference that was not statistically significant (p-value = 0.23). CONCLUSIONS Medical radiation workers were at increased risk for lung cancer that was higher among men than women, although this difference was not statistically significant. In contrast, the study of Japanese atomic bomb survivors exposed briefly to radiation in 1945 found females to be nearly 3 times the radiation risk of lung cancer compared with males on a relative scale. For medical workers, there were no statistically significant radiation associations with leukemia excluding CLL, IHD or other specific causes of death. Combining these data with other cohorts within the MPS, such as nuclear power plant workers and nuclear submariners, will enable more precise estimates of radiation risks at relatively low cumulative doses.
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Affiliation(s)
- John D Boice
- National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, Bethesda, MD, USA.,Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | | | - Michael T Mumma
- International Epidemiology Institute, Rockville, MD, USA.,Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Sara C Howard
- ORISE Health Studies Program, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | | | - Lawrence T Dauer
- Department of Medical Physics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
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Kishimoto S, Oda N, Maruhashi T, Tanigawa S, Mizobuchi A, Yusoff FM, Fujita A, Uchiki T, Kajikawa M, Yoshimura K, Yamaji T, Harada T, Hashimoto Y, Nakano Y, Hirota S, Yoshinaga S, Goto C, Nakashima A, Higashi Y. Effect of exposure to radiation caused by an atomic bomb on endothelial function in atomic bomb survivors. Front Cardiovasc Med 2023; 10:1122794. [PMID: 36873409 PMCID: PMC9981625 DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2023.1122794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of exposure to radiation caused by an atomic bomb in atomic bomb survivors on vascular function and vascular structure and to evaluate the relationships of radiation dose from the atomic bomb with vascular function and vascular structure in atomic bomb survivors. Methods Flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) and nitroglycerine-induced vasodilation (NID) as indices of vascular function, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) as an index of vascular function and vascular structure, and brachial artery intima-media thickness (IMT) as an index of vascular structure were measured in 131 atomic bomb survivors and 1,153 control subjects who were not exposed to the atomic bomb. Ten of the 131 atomic bomb survivors with estimated radiation dose in a cohort study of Atomic Bomb Survivors in Hiroshima were enrolled in the study to evaluate the relationships of radiation dose from the atomic bomb with vascular function and vascular structure. Results There was no significant difference in FMD, NID, baPWV, or brachial artery IMT between control subjects and atomic bomb survivors. After adjustment of confounding factors, there was still no significant difference in FMD, NID, baPWV, or brachial artery IMT between control subjects and atomic bomb survivors. Radiation dose from the atomic bomb was negatively correlated with FMD (ρ = -0.73, P = 0.02), whereas radiation dose was not correlated with NID, baPWV or brachial artery IMT. Conclusion There were no significant differences in vascular function and vascular structure between control subjects and atomic bomb survivors. Radiation dose from the atomic bomb might be negatively correlated with endothelial function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shinji Kishimoto
- Department of Regenerative Medicine, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Nozomu Oda
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital and Atomic-Bomb Survivors Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Tatsuya Maruhashi
- Department of Regenerative Medicine, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Shunsuke Tanigawa
- Department of Regenerative Medicine, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Aya Mizobuchi
- Department of Regenerative Medicine, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Farina Mohamad Yusoff
- Department of Regenerative Medicine, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Asuka Fujita
- Department of Regenerative Medicine, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.,Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Toshio Uchiki
- Department of Regenerative Medicine, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.,Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Masato Kajikawa
- Division of Regeneration and Medicine, Medical Center for Translational and Clinical Research, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Kenichi Yoshimura
- Division of Regeneration and Medicine, Medical Center for Translational and Clinical Research, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Takayuki Yamaji
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Takahiro Harada
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Yu Hashimoto
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Yukiko Nakano
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Seiko Hirota
- Department of Environmetrics and Biometrics, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Shinji Yoshinaga
- Department of Environmetrics and Biometrics, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Chikara Goto
- Department of Rehabilitation, Faculty of General Rehabilitation, Hiroshima International University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Ayumu Nakashima
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Yukihito Higashi
- Department of Regenerative Medicine, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.,Division of Regeneration and Medicine, Medical Center for Translational and Clinical Research, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan
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10
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Simon S, Kendall G, Bouffler S, Little M. The Evidence for Excess Risk of Cancer and Non-Cancer Disease at Low Doses and Dose Rates. Radiat Res 2022; 198:615-624. [PMID: 36136740 PMCID: PMC9797580 DOI: 10.1667/rade-22-00132.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The question of whether there are excess radiation-associated health risks at low dose is controversial. We present evidence of excess cancer risks in a number of (largely pediatrically or in utero exposed) groups exposed to low doses of radiation (<0.1 Gy). Moreover, the available data on biological mechanisms do not provide support for the idea of a low-dose threshold or hormesis for any of these endpoints. There are emerging data suggesting risks of cardiovascular disease and cataract at low doses, but this is less well established. This large body of evidence does not suggest and, indeed, is not statistically compatible with any very large threshold in dose (>10 mGy), or with possible beneficial effects from exposures. The presented data suggest that exposure to low-dose radiation causes excess cancer risks and quite possibly also excess risks of various non-cancer endpoints.
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Affiliation(s)
- S.L. Simon
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute (retired)
| | - G.M. Kendall
- Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Oxford Population Health, University of Oxford, Richard Doll Building, Old Road Campus, Headington, Oxford, OX3 7LF, United Kingdom
| | - S.D. Bouffler
- Radiation Effects Department, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Chilton, Didcot OX11 0RQ, United Kingdom
| | - M.P. Little
- Radiation Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-9778
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11
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Miller KB, Mi KL, Nelson GA, Norman RB, Patel ZS, Huff JL. Ionizing radiation, cerebrovascular disease, and consequent dementia: A review and proposed framework relevant to space radiation exposure. Front Physiol 2022; 13:1008640. [PMID: 36388106 PMCID: PMC9640983 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.1008640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 09/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Space exploration requires the characterization and management or mitigation of a variety of human health risks. Exposure to space radiation is one of the main health concerns because it has the potential to increase the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and both acute and late neurodegeneration. Space radiation-induced decrements to the vascular system may impact the risk for cerebrovascular disease and consequent dementia. These risks may be independent or synergistic with direct damage to central nervous system tissues. The purpose of this work is to review epidemiological and experimental data regarding the impact of low-to-moderate dose ionizing radiation on the central nervous system and the cerebrovascular system. A proposed framework outlines how space radiation-induced effects on the vasculature may increase risk for both cerebrovascular dysfunction and neural and cognitive adverse outcomes. The results of this work suggest that there are multiple processes by which ionizing radiation exposure may impact cerebrovascular function including increases in oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, endothelial cell dysfunction, arterial stiffening, atherosclerosis, and cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Cerebrovascular adverse outcomes may also promote neural and cognitive adverse outcomes. However, there are many gaps in both the human and preclinical evidence base regarding the long-term impact of ionizing radiation exposure on brain health due to heterogeneity in both exposures and outcomes. The unique composition of the space radiation environment makes the translation of the evidence base from terrestrial exposures to space exposures difficult. Additional investigation and understanding of the impact of low-to-moderate doses of ionizing radiation including high (H) atomic number (Z) and energy (E) (HZE) ions on the cerebrovascular system is needed. Furthermore, investigation of how decrements in vascular systems may contribute to development of neurodegenerative diseases in independent or synergistic pathways is important for protecting the long-term health of astronauts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Gregory A. Nelson
- Department of Basic Sciences, Division of Biomedical Engineering Sciences, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, United States
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, United States
- KBR Inc., Houston, TX, United States
| | - Ryan B. Norman
- NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, United States
| | - Zarana S. Patel
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, United States
- KBR Inc., Houston, TX, United States
| | - Janice L. Huff
- NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, United States
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12
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Risk of Developing Non-Cancerous Central Nervous System Diseases Due to Ionizing Radiation Exposure during Adulthood: Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12080984. [PMID: 35892428 PMCID: PMC9331299 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12080984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: High-dose ionizing radiation (IR) (>0.5 Gy) is an established risk factor for cognitive impairments, but this cannot be concluded for low-to-moderate IR exposure (<0.5 Gy) in adulthood as study results are inconsistent. The objectives are to summarize relevant epidemiological studies of low-to-moderate IR exposure in adulthood and to assess the risk of non-cancerous CNS diseases. Methods: A systematic literature search of four electronic databases was performed to retrieve relevant epidemiological studies published from 2000 to 2022. Pooled standardized mortality ratios, relative risks, and excess relative risks (ERR) were estimated with a random effect model. Results: Forty-five publications were included in the systematic review, including thirty-three in the quantitative meta-analysis. The following sources of IR-exposure were considered: atomic bomb, occupational, environmental, and medical exposure. Increased dose-risk relationships were found for cerebrovascular diseases incidence and mortality (ERRpooled per 100 mGy = 0.04; 95% CI: 0.03−0.05; ERRpooled at 100 mGy = 0.01; 95% CI: −0.00−0.02, respectively) and for Parkinson’s disease (ERRpooled at 100 mGy = 0.11; 95% CI: 0.06−0.16); Conclusions: Our findings suggest that adult low-to-moderate IR exposure may have effects on non-cancerous CNS diseases. Further research addressing inherent variation issues is encouraged.
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13
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Boice JD, Cohen SS, Mumma MT, Hagemeyer DA, Chen H, Golden AP, Yoder RC, Dauer LT. Mortality from Leukemia, Cancer and Heart Disease among U.S. Nuclear Power Plant Workers, 1957-2011. Int J Radiat Biol 2021; 98:657-678. [PMID: 34669562 DOI: 10.1080/09553002.2021.1967507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The aim of the Million Person Study (MPS) of Low Dose Health Effects is to examine the level of radiation risk for chronic exposures received gradually over time and not acutely as was the case for the Japanese atomic bomb survivors. Nuclear power plant (NPP) workers comprise nearly 15 percent of the MPS. Leukemia, selected cancers, Parkinson's disease, ischemic heart disease (IHD) and other causes of death are evaluated. METHODS AND MATERIAL The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Radiation Exposure Information and Reporting System (REIRS) and the Landauer, Inc. dosimetry databases identified 135,193 NPP workers first monitored 1957-1984. Annual personal dose equivalents [Hp(10)] were available for each worker. Radiation records from all places of employment were sought. Vital status was determined through 2011. Mean absorbed doses to red bone marrow (RBM), esophagus, lung, colon, brain and heart were estimated by adjusting the recorded Hp(10) for each worker by scaling factors, accounting for exposure geometry and energy of the incident gamma radiation. Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated. Radiation risks were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS Nearly 50% of workers were employed for more than 20 years. The mean duration of follow-up was 30.2 y. Overall, 29,076 total deaths occurred, 296 from leukemia other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), 3,382 from lung cancer, 140 from Parkinson's disease and 5,410 from IHD. The mean dose to RBM was 37.9 mGy (maximum 1.0 Gy; percent >100 mGy was 9.2%), 43.2 mGy to lung, 43.7 mGy to colon, 33.2 mGy to brain, and 43.9 mGy to heart. The SMRs (95% CI) were 1.06 (0.94;1.19) for leukemia other than CLL, 1.10 (1.07;1.14) for lung cancer, 0.90 (0.76;1.06) for Parkinson's disease, and 0.80 (0.78; 0.82) for IHD. The excess relative risk (ERR) per 100 mGy for leukemia other than CLL was 0.15 (90% CI 0.001; 0.31). For all solid cancers the ERR per 100 mGy (95% CI) was 0.01 (-0.03; 0.05), for lung cancer -0.04 (-0.11; 0.02), for Parkinson's disease 0.24 (-0.02; 0.50), and for IHD -0.01 (-0.06; 0.04). CONCLUSION Prolonged exposure to radiation increased the risk of leukemia other than CLL among NPP workers. There was little evidence for a radiation-association for all solid cancers, lung cancer or ischemic heart disease. Increased precision will be forthcoming as the different cohorts within the MPS are combined, such as industrial radiographers and medical radiation workers who were assembled and evaluated in like manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- John D Boice
- National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, Bethesda, MD, USA.,Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | | | - Michael T Mumma
- International Epidemiology Institute, Rockville, MD, USA.,Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | | | - Heidi Chen
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | | | | | - Lawrence T Dauer
- Department of Medical Physics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
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14
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Shuryak I, Kachnic LA, Brenner DJ. In Reply to Welsh et al. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2021; 111:576-577. [PMID: 34473976 PMCID: PMC8403552 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2021.05.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Igor Shuryak
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York
| | - Lisa A Kachnic
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York
| | - David J Brenner
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York
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15
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de Vocht F, Martin RM, Hidajat M, Wakeford R. Quantitative Bias Analysis of the Association between Occupational Radiation Exposure and Ischemic Heart Disease Mortality in UK Nuclear Workers. Radiat Res 2021; 196:574-586. [PMID: 34370860 DOI: 10.1667/rade-21-00078.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
The scientific question of whether protracted low-dose or low-dose-rate exposure to external radiation is causally related to the risk of circulatory disease continues to be an important issue for radiation protection. Previous analyses of a matched case-control dataset nested in a large cohort of UK nuclear fuel cycle workers indicated that there was little evidence that observed associations between external radiation dose and ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality risk [OR = 1.35 (95% CI: 0.99-184) for 15-year-lagged exposure] could alternatively be explained by confounding from pre-employment tobacco smoking, BMI or blood pressure, or from socioeconomic status or occupational exposure to excessive noise or shiftwork. To improve causal inference about the observed external radiation dose and IHD mortality association, we estimated the potential magnitude and direction of non-random errors, incorporated sensitivity analyses and simulated bias effects under plausible scenarios. We conducted quantitative bias analyses of plausible scenarios based on 1,000 Monte Carlo samples to explore the impact of exposure measurement error, missing information on tobacco smoking, and unmeasured confounding, and assessed whether observed associations were reliant on the inclusion of specific matched pairs using bootstrapping with 10% of matched pairs randomly excluded in 1,000 samples. We further explored the plausibility that having been monitored for internal exposure, which was an important confounding factor in the case-control analysis for which models were adjusted, was indeed a confounding factor or whether it might have been the result of some form of selection bias. Consistent with the broader epidemiological evidence-base, these analyses provide further evidence that the dose-response association between cumulative external radiation exposure and IHD mortality is non-linear in that it has a linear shape plateauing at an excess risk of 43% (95% CI: 7-92%) on reaching 390 mSv. Analyses of plausible scenarios of patterns of missing data for tobacco smoking at start of employment indicated that this resulted in relatively little bias towards the null in the original analysis. An unmeasured confounder would have had to have been highly correlated (rp > 0.60) with cumulative external radiation dose to importantly bias observed associations. The confounding effect of "having been monitored for internal dose" was unlikely to have been a true confounder in a biological sense, but instead may have been some unknown factor related to differences over time and between sites in selection criteria for internal monitoring, possibly resulting in collider bias. Plausible patterns of exposure measurement error negatively biased associations regardless of the modeled scenario, but did not importantly change the shape of the observed dose-response associations. These analyses provide additional support for the hypothesis that the observed association between external radiation exposure and IHD mortality may be causal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank de Vocht
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2PS, United Kingdom; and
| | - Richard M Martin
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2PS, United Kingdom; and
| | - Mira Hidajat
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2PS, United Kingdom; and
| | - Richard Wakeford
- Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom
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16
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Boice JD, Cohen SS, Mumma MT, Golden AP, Howard SC, Girardi DJ, Ellis ED, Bellamy MB, Dauer LT, Samuels C, Eckerman KF, Leggett RW. Mortality among workers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, 1943-2017. Int J Radiat Biol 2021; 98:722-749. [PMID: 34047625 DOI: 10.1080/09553002.2021.1917784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND During World War II (WWII), the Manhattan Engineering District established a secret laboratory in the mountains of northern New Mexico. The mission was to design, construct and test the first atomic weapon, nicknamed 'The Gadget' that was detonated at the TRINITY site in Alamogordo, NM. After WWII, nuclear weapons research continued, and the laboratory became the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). MATERIALS AND METHODS The mortality experience of 26,328 workers first employed between 1943 and 1980 at LANL was determined through 2017. Included were 6157 contract workers employed by the ZIA Company. Organ dose estimates for each worker considered all sources of exposure, notably photons, neutrons, tritium, 238Pu and 239Pu. Vital status determination included searches within the National Death Index, Social Security Administration and New Mexico State Mortality Files. Standardized Mortality Ratios (SMR) and Cox regression models were used in the analyses. RESULTS Most workers (55%) were hired before 1960, 38% had a college degree, 25% were female, 81% white, 13% Hispanic and 60% had died. Vital status was complete, with only 0.1% lost to follow-up. The mean dose to the lung for the 17,053 workers monitored for radiation was 28.6 weighted-mGy (maximum 16.8 weighted-Gy) assuming a Dose Weighting Factor of 20 for alpha particle dose to lung. The Excess Relative Risk (ERR) at 100 weighted-mGy was 0.01 (95%CI -0.02, 0.03; n = 839) for lung cancer. The ERR at 100 mGy was -0.43 (95%CI -1.11, 0.24; n = 160) for leukemia other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), -0.06 (95%CI -0.16, 0.04; n = 3043) for ischemic heart disease (IHD), and 0.29 (95%CI 0.02, 0.55; n = 106) for esophageal cancer. Among the 6499 workers with measurable intakes of plutonium, an increase in bone cancer (SMR 2.44; 95%CI 0.98, 5.03; n = 7) was related to dose. The SMR for berylliosis was significantly high, based on 4 deaths. SMRs for Hispanic workers were significantly high for cancers of the stomach and liver, cirrhosis of the liver, nonmalignant kidney disease and diabetes, but the excesses were not related to radiation dose. CONCLUSIONS There was little evidence that radiation increased the risk of lung cancer or leukemia. Esophageal cancer was associated with radiation, and plutonium intakes were linked to an increase of bone cancer. IHD was not associated with radiation dose. More precise evaluations will await the pooled analysis of workers with similar exposures such as at Rocky Flats, Savannah River and Hanford.
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Affiliation(s)
- John D Boice
- National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, Bethesda, MD, USA.,Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | | | - Michael T Mumma
- International Epidemiology Institute, Rockville, MD, USA.,International Epidemiology Field Station, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Ashley P Golden
- ORISE Health Studies Program, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Sara C Howard
- ORISE Health Studies Program, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - David J Girardi
- ORISE Health Studies Program, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | | | - Michael B Bellamy
- Department of Medical Physics and Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lawrence T Dauer
- Department of Medical Physics and Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
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17
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Little MP, Azizova TV, Hamada N. Low- and moderate-dose non-cancer effects of ionizing radiation in directly exposed individuals, especially circulatory and ocular diseases: a review of the epidemiology. Int J Radiat Biol 2021; 97:782-803. [PMID: 33471563 PMCID: PMC10656152 DOI: 10.1080/09553002.2021.1876955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2020] [Revised: 12/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE There are well-known correlations between high and moderate doses (>0.5 Gy) of ionizing radiation exposure and circulatory system damage, also between radiation and posterior subcapsular cataract. At lower dose correlations with circulatory disease are emerging in the Japanese atomic bomb survivors and in some occupationally exposed groups, and are still to some extent controversial. Heterogeneity in excess relative risks per unit dose in epidemiological studies at low (<0.1 Gy) and at low-moderate (>0.1 Gy, <0.5 Gy) doses may result from confounding and other types of bias, and effect modification by established risk factors. There is also accumulating evidence of excess cataract risks at lower dose and low dose rate in various cohorts. Other ocular endpoints, specifically glaucoma and macular degeneration have been little studied. In this paper, we review recent epidemiological findings, and also discuss some of the underlying radiobiology of these conditions. We briefly review some other types of mainly neurological nonmalignant disease in relation to radiation exposure. CONCLUSIONS We document statistically significant excess risk of the major types of circulatory disease, specifically ischemic heart disease and stroke, in moderate- or low-dose exposed groups, with some not altogether consistent evidence suggesting dose-response non-linearity, particularly for stroke. However, the patterns of risk reported are not straightforward. We also document evidence of excess risks at lower doses/dose-rates of posterior subcapsular and cortical cataract in the Chernobyl liquidators, US Radiologic Technologists and Russian Mayak nuclear workers, with fundamentally linear dose-response. Nuclear cataracts are less radiogenic. For other ocular endpoints, specifically glaucoma and macular degeneration there is very little evidence of effects at low doses; radiation-associated glaucoma has been documented only for doses >5 Gy, and so has the characteristics of a tissue reaction. There is some evidence of neurological detriment following low-moderate dose (∼0.1-0.2 Gy) radiation exposure in utero or in early childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark P Little
- Radiation Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Tamara V Azizova
- Clinical Department, Southern Urals Biophysics Institute, Ozyorsk, Ozyorsk Chelyabinsk Region, Russia
| | - Nobuyuki Hamada
- Radiation Safety Research Center, Nuclear Technology Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI), Komae, Tokyo, Japan
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18
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Sadetzki S, Chetrit A, Boursi B, Luxenburg O, Novikov I, Cohen A. Childhood Exposure to Low to Moderate Doses of Ionizing Radiation and the Risk of Vascular Diseases. Am J Epidemiol 2021; 190:423-430. [PMID: 32997139 DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwaa177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2019] [Revised: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
In the Tinea Capitis Study (Israel, 1966-2011), we assessed the association between childhood exposure to low to moderate doses of ionizing radiation (IR) to the head and neck and the development of vascular diseases (ischemic heart disease, carotid artery stenosis, and stroke) in adulthood. The study included 17,734 individuals from the Tinea Capitis cohort (7,408 irradiated in childhood and 10,326 nonirradiated), insured by Israel's largest health provider. Individual dosimetry was estimated based on measurements made on a head phantom and original treatment records. The mean doses were 1.5, 0.09, 0.78, and 0.017 Gy to brain, thyroid, salivary gland, and breast, respectively. Data on vascular diseases was abstracted from computerized medical records. Using Poisson regressions, we examined the association of radiation with morbidity. Any vascular disease was reported for 2,221 individuals. Adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, smoking, hypertension, and diabetes, exposure to IR increased the risk of developing any vascular diseases (relative risk (RR) = 1.19, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09, 1.29), stroke (RR = 1.35, 1.20, 1.53), carotid artery stenosis (RR = 1.32, 1.06, 1.64), and ischemic heart disease (RR = 1.12, 1.01, 1.26). The risk of developing vascular diseases was positively associated with dose and inversely associated with age at exposure. In conclusion, the results indicate that early exposure to low to moderate doses of IR increases the risk of cerebro- and cardiovascular impairments.
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19
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Tapio S, Little MP, Kaiser JC, Impens N, Hamada N, Georgakilas AG, Simar D, Salomaa S. Ionizing radiation-induced circulatory and metabolic diseases. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2021; 146:106235. [PMID: 33157375 PMCID: PMC10686049 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.106235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Revised: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Risks to health are the prime consideration in all human situations of ionizing radiation exposure and therefore of relevance to radiation protection in all occupational, medical, and public exposure situations. Over the past few decades, advances in therapeutic strategies have led to significant improvements in cancer survival rates. However, a wide range of long-term complications have been reported in cancer survivors, in particular circulatory diseases and their major risk factors, metabolic diseases. However, at lower levels of exposure, the evidence is less clear. Under real-life exposure scenarios, including radiotherapy, radiation effects in the whole organism will be determined mainly by the response of normal tissues receiving relatively low doses, and will be mediated and moderated by systemic effects. Therefore, there is an urgent need for further research on the impact of low-dose radiation. In this article, we review radiation-associated risks of circulatory and metabolic diseases in clinical, occupational or environmental exposure situations, addressing epidemiological, biological, risk modelling, and systems biology aspects, highlight the gaps in knowledge and discuss future directions to address these gaps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soile Tapio
- Institute of Radiation Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, German Research Center for Environmental Health GmbH, Neuherberg, Germany.
| | - Mark P Little
- Radiation Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), MD, USA
| | - Jan Christian Kaiser
- Institute of Radiation Medicine, Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, German Research Center for Environmental Health GmbH, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Nathalie Impens
- Institute of Environment, Health and Safety, Biosphere Impact Studies, SCK•CEN, Mol, Belgium
| | - Nobuyuki Hamada
- Radiation Safety Research Center, Nuclear Technology Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI), Tokyo, Japan
| | - Alexandros G Georgakilas
- DNA Damage Laboratory, Department of Physics, School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Athens, Greece
| | - David Simar
- Mechanisms of Disease and Translational Research, School of Medical Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Sisko Salomaa
- Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
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20
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Del Castillo R, Martinez D, Sarria GJ, Pinillos L, Garcia B, Castillo L, Carhuactocto A, Giordano FA, Sarria GR. Low-dose radiotherapy for COVID-19 pneumonia treatment: case report, procedure, and literature review. Strahlenther Onkol 2020; 196:1086-1093. [PMID: 32816059 PMCID: PMC7439803 DOI: 10.1007/s00066-020-01675-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has set the emergency services in developing countries on major alert, as the installed response capacities are easily overwhelmed by the constantly increasing high demand. The deficit of intensive care unit beds and ventilators in countries like Peru is forcing practitioners to seek preventive or early interventional strategies to prevent saturating these chronically neglected facilities. CASE PRESENTATION A 64-year-old patient is reported after presenting with COVID-19 pneumonia and rapidly progressing to deteriorated ventilatory function. Compassionate treatment with a single 1‑Gy dose to the bilateral whole-lung volume was administered, with gradual daily improvement of ventilatory function and decrease in serum inflammatory markers and oxygen support needs, including intubation. No treatment-related toxicity developed. Procedures of transport, disinfection, and treatment planning and delivery are described. CONCLUSION Whole-lung low-dose radiotherapy seems to be a promising approach for avoiding or delaying invasive respiratory support. Delivered low doses are far from meeting toxicity ranges. On-going prospective trials will elucidate the effectiveness of this approach.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - David Martinez
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinica Delgado-AUNA, Lima, Peru
| | - Gustavo J Sarria
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinica Delgado-AUNA, Lima, Peru
| | - Luis Pinillos
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinica Delgado-AUNA, Lima, Peru
| | - Bertha Garcia
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinica Delgado-AUNA, Lima, Peru
| | - Luis Castillo
- Department of Critical Care, Clinica Delgado-AUNA, Lima, Peru
| | | | - Frank A Giordano
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Bonn, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, Venusberg Campus 1, Building 55, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - Gustavo R Sarria
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Bonn, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, Venusberg Campus 1, Building 55, 53127, Bonn, Germany.
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21
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Kocher DC, Apostoaei AI, Thomas BA, Borrego D, Lee C, Zablotska LB. Organ Doses from Chest Radiographs in Tuberculosis Patients in Canada and Their Uncertainties in Periods from 1930 to 1969. HEALTH PHYSICS 2020; 119:176-191. [PMID: 31770123 PMCID: PMC7246181 DOI: 10.1097/hp.0000000000001171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
This paper describes a study to estimate absorbed doses to various organs from film-based chest radiographs and their uncertainties in the periods 1930 to 1948, 1949 to 1955, and 1956 to 1969. Estimated organ doses will be used in new analyses of risks of cancer and other diseases in tuberculosis patients in Canada who had chest fluoroscopic and radiographic examinations in those periods. In this paper, doses to lungs, female breast, active bone marrow, and heart from a single chest radiograph in adults and children of ages 1, 5, 10, and 15 y in the Canadian cohort and their uncertainties are estimated using (1) data on the tube voltage (kV), total filtration (mm Al), tube-current exposure-time product (mA s), and tube output (mR [mA s]) in each period; (2) assumptions about patient orientation, distance from the source to the skin of a patient, and film size; and (3) new calculations of sex- and age-specific organ dose conversion coefficients (organ doses per dose in air at skin entrance). Variations in estimated doses to each organ across the three periods are less than 20% in adults and up to about 30% at younger ages. Uncertainties in estimated organ doses are about a factor of 2 to 3 in adults and up to a factor of 4 at younger ages and are due mainly to uncertainties in the tube voltage and tube-current exposure-time product.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - David Borrego
- Radiation Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - Choonsik Lee
- Radiation Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - Lydia B Zablotska
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
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22
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Cha ES, Zablotska LB, Bang YJ, Lee WJ. Occupational radiation exposure and morbidity of circulatory disease among diagnostic medical radiation workers in South Korea. Occup Environ Med 2020; 77:752-760. [DOI: 10.1136/oemed-2019-106326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2019] [Revised: 04/12/2020] [Accepted: 06/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
ObjectivesWe investigated the association between low-dose external occupational radiation exposure and circulatory disease morbidity among diagnostic medical radiation workers.MethodsA cohort of 11 500 diagnostic medical radiation workers was linked with the National Dosimetry Registry data and the National Health Insurance Service data. Relative risks (RRs) were calculated to explore the association between occupational factors and circulatory disease morbidity, and excess relative risks per 100 milligray (ERR/100 mGy) were estimated to quantify the radiation dose-response relationship.ResultsOverall, there were 2270 cases of circulatory diseases during 93 696 person-years of observation (average follow-up=8.1 years). RRs for hypertension were significantly increased for individuals who started working before 2000 compared with those who started in 2005 and later. ERR/100 mGy for all circulatory diseases was 0.14 (95% CI −0.57 to 0.99). Radiation risks of cerebrovascular diseases and ischaemic heart disease were non-significantly increased with estimates of individual cumulative doses to the heart (ERR/100 mGy=3.10 (−0.75 to 11.59) and 1.22 (−0.71 to 4.73), respectively). However, ERR estimates were generally more strongly positive for female versus male workers and for younger workers versus more than 50-year-old workers.ConclusionsThis study provides little evidence in support of a positive association between occupational radiation exposure and the overall risk of circulatory disease over a short follow-up period among medical radiation workers in South Korea. However, significantly increased RR with earlier year first worked, elevated ERR in female workers and young workers should be further followed up.
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23
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Rödel F, Arenas M, Ott OJ, Fournier C, Georgakilas AG, Tapio S, Trott KR, Gaipl US. Low-dose radiation therapy for COVID-19 pneumopathy: what is the evidence? Strahlenther Onkol 2020; 196:679-682. [PMID: 32388805 PMCID: PMC7211051 DOI: 10.1007/s00066-020-01635-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
In the current dismal situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, effective management of patients with pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome is of vital importance. Due to the current lack of effective pharmacological concepts, this situation has caused interest in (re)considering historical reports on the treatment of patients with low-dose radiation therapy for pneumonia. Although these historical reports are of low-level evidence per se, hampering recommendations for decision-making in the clinical setting, they indicate effectiveness in the dose range between 0.3 and 1 Gy, similar to more recent dose concepts in the treatment of acute and chronic inflammatory/degenerative benign diseases with, e.g., a single dose per fraction of 0.5 Gy. This concise review aims to critically review the evidence for low-dose radiation treatment of COVID-19 pneumopathy and discuss whether it is worth investigating in the present clinical situation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franz Rödel
- Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Universitätsklinikum Frankfurt am Main, Goethe-University, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | - Meritxell Arenas
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital Universitari Sant Joan de Reus, University of Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Oliver J Ott
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Claudia Fournier
- Department of Biophysics, GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Alexandros G Georgakilas
- DNA Damage Laboratory, Physics Department, School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Athens, Greece
| | - Soile Tapio
- Institute of Radiation Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health GmbH, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Klaus-Rüdiger Trott
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Udo S Gaipl
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
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24
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Schöllnberger H, Kaiser JC, Eidemüller M, Zablotska LB. Radio-biologically motivated modeling of radiation risks of mortality from ischemic heart diseases in the Canadian fluoroscopy cohort study. RADIATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL BIOPHYSICS 2020; 59:63-78. [PMID: 31781840 DOI: 10.1007/s00411-019-00819-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2018] [Accepted: 10/24/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Recent analyses of the Canadian fluoroscopy cohort study reported significantly increased radiation risks of mortality from ischemic heart diseases (IHD) with a linear dose-response adjusted for dose fractionation. This cohort includes 63,707 tuberculosis patients from Canada who were exposed to low-to-moderate dose fractionated X-rays in 1930s-1950s and were followed-up for death from non-cancer causes during 1950-1987. In the current analysis, we scrutinized the assumption of linearity by analyzing a series of radio-biologically motivated nonlinear dose-response models to get a better understanding of the impact of radiation damage on IHD. The models were weighted according to their quality of fit and were then mathematically superposed applying the multi-model inference (MMI) technique. Our results indicated an essentially linear dose-response relationship for IHD mortality at low and medium doses and a supra-linear relationship at higher doses (> 1.5 Gy). At 5 Gy, the estimated radiation risks were fivefold higher compared to the linear no-threshold (LNT) model. This is the largest study of patients exposed to fractionated low-to-moderate doses of radiation. Our analyses confirm previously reported significantly increased radiation risks of IHD from doses similar to those from diagnostic radiation procedures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helmut Schöllnberger
- Department of Radiation Sciences, Institute of Radiation Medicine, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstrasse 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany.
- Division UR-Environmental Radioactivity, Federal Office for Radiation Protection, Ingolstädter Landstrasse 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany.
| | - Jan Christian Kaiser
- Department of Radiation Sciences, Institute of Radiation Medicine, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstrasse 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Markus Eidemüller
- Department of Radiation Sciences, Institute of Radiation Medicine, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstrasse 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Lydia B Zablotska
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, 550 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
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25
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Zhang W, Haylock RGE, Gillies M, Hunter N. Mortality from heart diseases following occupational radiation exposure: analysis of the National Registry for Radiation Workers (NRRW) in the United Kingdom. JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGICAL PROTECTION : OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR RADIOLOGICAL PROTECTION 2019; 39:327-353. [PMID: 30860078 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6498/ab02b2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Statistically significant increases in heart disease (HD) mortality with cumulative recorded occupational radiation dose from external sources were observed among 174 541 subjects, who were predominately exposed to protracted low doses over a number of years, and were followed up until the end of 2011 in the UK National Registry for Radiation Workers (NRRW) cohort. Amongst the subtypes of HD, the increasing trends with cumulative dose arose for ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and other HD (which includes pulmonary HD, valve disorders, cardiomyopathy, cardiac dysrhythmias, carditis, conduction disorder and ill-defined HD). For IHD, the increased mortality appears to be at least 20 years after first exposure and the excess risk peaked between 30 and 40 years after the first exposure. There was no evidence of excess risk of IHD mortality for cumulative radiation doses below 0.1 Sv. A categorical analysis also showed that the risk falls below the expected value based on a linear trend, for cumulative doses greater than 0.4 Sv; this smaller risk appears to be primarily associated with workers who started employment at a younger age and who were employed for longer than 30 years, reflecting possible healthy worker survivor effect. This analysis provided further evidence that low doses of radiation exposure may be associated with increased risk of IHD. For other HD, the data suggest an increased risk starting around 40 years after the first exposure. The risk was statistically significant raised only for cumulative doses above 0.4 Sv. However, the number of deaths in this group was small and the results need to be interpreted with caution.
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26
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Adams MJ, Fisher SG, Lipshultz SE, Shore RE, Constine LS, Stovall M, Dozier A, Thevenet-Morrison K, Block R, Schwartz RG, Pearson TA. Risk of Coronary Events 55 Years after Thymic Irradiation in the Hempelmann Cohort. CARDIO-ONCOLOGY 2018; 4. [PMID: 30381795 PMCID: PMC6205237 DOI: 10.1186/s40959-018-0027-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Background Studies of cancer survivors treated with older radiotherapy (RT) techniques (pre-1990s) strongly suggest that ionizing radiation to the chest increases the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Our goal was to evaluate the impact of more modern cardiac shielding techniques of RT on the magnitude and timing of CHD risk by studying a cohort exposed to similar levels of cardiac irradiation years ago. Methods Between 2004 and 2008, we re-established a population-based, longitudinal cohort of 2657 subjects exposed to irradiation for an enlarged thymus during infancy between 1926 and 1957 and 4388 of their non-irradiated siblings. CHD events were assessed using a mailed survey and from causes of death listed in the National Death Index. We used Poisson regression methods to compare incidence rates by irradiation status and cardiac radiation dose. Results were adjusted for the CHD risk factors of attained-age, sex, diabetes, dyslipidemia hypertension and smoking. Results Median age at time of follow-up was 57.5 years (range 41.2–88.8 yrs) for irradiated and non-irradiated siblings. The mean estimated cardiac dose amongst the irradiated was 1.45 Gray (range 0.17–20.20 Gy), with 91% receiving < 3.00 Gy. During a combined 339,924 person-years of follow-up, 213 myocardial infarctions (MI) and 350 CHD events (MI, bypass surgery and angioplasty) occurred. After adjustment for attained age, gender, and other CHD risk factors, the rate ratio for MI incidence in the irradiated group was 0.98 (95%CI, 0.74–1.30), and for any CHD event was 1.07 (95%CI, 0.86–1.32). Higher radiation doses were not associated with more MIs or CHD events in this dose range, in either the crude or the adjusted analyses. Conclusions Radiation to the heart during childhood of < 3 Gy, the exposure in most of our cohort, does not increase the lifelong risk of CHD. Reducing cardiac radiation to this amount without increasing other cardiotoxic therapies may eliminate the increased CHD risk associated with radiotherapy for childhood cancer. By extension there is unlikely to be increased CHD risk from relatively higher dose imaging techniques, such as CT, because such techniques use much smaller radiation doses than received by our cohort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Jacob Adams
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York (Retired)
| | - Susan G Fisher
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Lewis Katz School of Medicine Temple University Philadelphia PA
| | - Steven E Lipshultz
- Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Children's Hospital of Michigan, and the Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit Michigan
| | - Roy E Shore
- Department of Environmental Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York
| | - Louis S Constine
- Departments of Radiation Oncology and Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, Rochester, New York
| | - Marilyn Stovall
- Department of Radiation Physics, University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (Retired)
| | - Ann Dozier
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York
| | - Kelly Thevenet-Morrison
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York
| | - Robert Block
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York.,Cardiology Division, Department of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York
| | - Ronald G Schwartz
- Cardiology Division, Department of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York.,Nuclear Medicine Division, Department of Imaging Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York
| | - Thomas A Pearson
- Department of Epidemiology, Schools of Public Health and Health Professions and of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
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27
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O'Brien G, Cruz-Garcia L, Majewski M, Grepl J, Abend M, Port M, Tichý A, Sirak I, Malkova A, Donovan E, Gothard L, Boyle S, Somaiah N, Ainsbury E, Ponge L, Slosarek K, Miszczyk L, Widlak P, Green E, Patel N, Kudari M, Gleeson F, Vinnikov V, Starenkiy V, Artiukh S, Vasyliev L, Zaman A, Badie C. FDXR is a biomarker of radiation exposure in vivo. Sci Rep 2018; 8:684. [PMID: 29330481 PMCID: PMC5766591 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-19043-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous investigations in gene expression changes in blood after radiation exposure have highlighted its potential to provide biomarkers of exposure. Here, FDXR transcriptional changes in blood were investigated in humans undergoing a range of external radiation exposure procedures covering several orders of magnitude (cardiac fluoroscopy, diagnostic computed tomography (CT)) and treatments (total body and local radiotherapy). Moreover, a method was developed to assess the dose to the blood using physical exposure parameters. FDXR expression was significantly up-regulated 24 hr after radiotherapy in most patients and continuously during the fractionated treatment. Significance was reached even after diagnostic CT 2 hours post-exposure. We further showed that no significant differences in expression were found between ex vivo and in vivo samples from the same patients. Moreover, potential confounding factors such as gender, infection status and anti-oxidants only affect moderately FDXR transcription. Finally, we provided a first in vivo dose-response showing dose-dependency even for very low doses or partial body exposure showing good correlation between physically and biologically assessed doses. In conclusion, we report the remarkable responsiveness of FDXR to ionising radiation at the transcriptional level which, when measured in the right time window, provides accurate in vivo dose estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gráinne O'Brien
- Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Public Health England, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
| | - Lourdes Cruz-Garcia
- Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Public Health England, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
| | | | - Jakub Grepl
- Department of Radiobiology, Faculty of Military Health Sciences in Hradec Králové, University of Defence in Brno, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic.,Biomedical Research Centre, Hradec Králové University Hospital, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
| | - Michael Abend
- Bundeswehr Institute of Radiobiology, Munich, Germany
| | - Matthias Port
- Bundeswehr Institute of Radiobiology, Munich, Germany
| | - Aleš Tichý
- Department of Radiobiology, Faculty of Military Health Sciences in Hradec Králové, University of Defence in Brno, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic.,Biomedical Research Centre, Hradec Králové University Hospital, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
| | - Igor Sirak
- Department of Oncology & Radiotherapy and 4th Department of Internal Medicine - Hematology, University Hospital, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
| | - Andrea Malkova
- Department of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové, Charles University, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
| | - Ellen Donovan
- Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7TE, United Kingdom
| | - Lone Gothard
- Institute of Cancer Research/Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Downs Road, Sutton, SM2 5PT, United Kingdom
| | - Sue Boyle
- Institute of Cancer Research/Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Downs Road, Sutton, SM2 5PT, United Kingdom
| | - Navita Somaiah
- Institute of Cancer Research/Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Downs Road, Sutton, SM2 5PT, United Kingdom
| | - Elizabeth Ainsbury
- Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Public Health England, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
| | - Lucyna Ponge
- Maria Sklodowska-Curie Institute - Oncology Center, Gliwice Branch, Gliwice, Poland
| | - Krzysztof Slosarek
- Maria Sklodowska-Curie Institute - Oncology Center, Gliwice Branch, Gliwice, Poland
| | - Leszek Miszczyk
- Maria Sklodowska-Curie Institute - Oncology Center, Gliwice Branch, Gliwice, Poland
| | - Piotr Widlak
- Maria Sklodowska-Curie Institute - Oncology Center, Gliwice Branch, Gliwice, Poland
| | - Edward Green
- Department of Radiology, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Neel Patel
- Department of Radiology, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Mahesh Kudari
- Department of Radiology, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Fergus Gleeson
- Department of Radiology, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Volodymyr Vinnikov
- Grigoriev Institute for Medical Radiology, National Academy of Medical Science, Kharkiv, Ukraine
| | - Viktor Starenkiy
- Grigoriev Institute for Medical Radiology, National Academy of Medical Science, Kharkiv, Ukraine
| | - Sergii Artiukh
- Grigoriev Institute for Medical Radiology, National Academy of Medical Science, Kharkiv, Ukraine
| | - Leonid Vasyliev
- Grigoriev Institute for Medical Radiology, National Academy of Medical Science, Kharkiv, Ukraine
| | - Azfar Zaman
- Department of Cardiology, Freeman Hospital and Institute of Cellular Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Newcastle, United Kingdom
| | - Christophe Badie
- Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Public Health England, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom.
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28
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Abstract
National space agencies and private corporations aim at an extended presence of humans in space in the medium to long term. Together with currently suboptimal technology, microgravity and cosmic rays raise health concerns about deep-space exploration missions. Both of these physical factors affect the cardiovascular system, whose gravity-dependence is pronounced. Heart and vascular function are, therefore, susceptible to substantial changes in weightlessness. The altered cardiovascular function in space causes physiological problems in the postflight period. A compromised cardiovascular system can be excessively vulnerable to space radiation, synergistically resulting in increased damage. The space radiation dose is significantly lower than in patients undergoing radiotherapy, in whom cardiac damage is well-documented following cancer therapy in the thoracic region. Nevertheless, epidemiological findings suggest an increased risk of late cardiovascular disease even with low doses of radiation. Moreover, the peculiar biological effectiveness of heavy ions in cosmic rays might increase this risk substantially. However, whether radiation-induced cardiovascular effects have a threshold at low doses is still unclear. The main countermeasures to mitigate the effect of the space environment on cardiac function are physical exercise, antioxidants, nutraceuticals, and radiation shielding.
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