1
|
Rosenberger A, Bickeböller H, Christiani DC, Liu G, Schabath MB, Duarte LF, Le Marchand L, Haiman C, Landi T, Consonni D, Field JK, Davies MPA, Albanes D, Tardón A, Fernández-Tardón G, Rennert G, Amos CI, Hung RJ. On the informative value of community-based indoor radon values in relation to lung cancer. Cancer Med 2024; 13:e70126. [PMID: 39194344 DOI: 10.1002/cam4.70126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2024] [Revised: 07/31/2024] [Accepted: 08/09/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Radon is a radioactive gas and a major risk factor for lung cancer (LC). METHODS We investigated the dose-response relationship between radon and LC risk in the International Lung Cancer Consortium with 8927 cases and 5562 controls from Europe, North America, and Israel, conducted between 1992 and 2016. Spatial indoor radon exposure in the residential area (sIR) obtained from national surveys was linked to the participants' residential geolocation. Parametric linear and spline functions were fitted within a logistic regression framework. RESULTS We observed a non-linear spatial-dose response relationship for sIR < 200 Bq/m3. The lowest risk was observed for areas of mean exposure of 58 Bq/m3 (95% CI: 56.1-59.2 Bq/m3). The relative risk of lung cancer increased to the same degree in areas averaging 25 Bq/m3 (OR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.01-1.59) as in areas with a mean of 100 Bq/m3 (OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.20-1.45). The strongest association was observed for small cell lung cancer and the weakest for squamous cell carcinoma. A stronger association was also observed in men, but only at higher exposure levels. The non-linear association is primarily observed among the younger population (age < 69 years), but not in the older population, which can potentially represent different biological radiation responses. CONCLUSIONS The sIR is useful as proxy of individual radon exposure in epidemiological studies on lung cancer. The usual assumption of a linear, no-threshold dose-response relationship, as can be made for individual radon exposures, may not be optimal for sIR values of less than 200 Bq/m3.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Albert Rosenberger
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology, University Medical Center, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Heike Bickeböller
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology, University Medical Center, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - David C Christiani
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Geoffrey Liu
- Medical Oncology and Medical Biophysics, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Medicine and Epidemiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Matthew B Schabath
- Department of Cancer Epidemiology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Luisa F Duarte
- Department of Cancer Epidemiology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Loic Le Marchand
- Epidemiology Program, University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
| | - Christopher Haiman
- Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Teresa Landi
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Dario Consonni
- Epidemiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - John K Field
- Department of Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine, Roy Castle Lung Cancer Research Programme, The University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Michael P A Davies
- Department of Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine, Roy Castle Lung Cancer Research Programme, The University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Demetrios Albanes
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Adonina Tardón
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Oviedo, ISPA and CIBERESP, Oviedo, Spain
| | | | - Gad Rennert
- Clalit National Cancer Control Center and Department of Community Medicine and Epidemiology at Carmel Medical Center and Technion Faculty of Medicine, Haifa, Israel
| | - Christopher I Amos
- Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Rayjean J Hung
- Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health System, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Abstract
Systematic bio- and databanks are key prerequisites for modern radiation research to investigate radiation response mechanisms in the context of genetic, environmental and lifestyle-associated factors. This report presents the current status of the German Uranium Miners’ Biobank. In 2008, the bio- and databank was established at the Federal Office for Radiation Protection, and the sampling of biological materials from former uranium miners with and without lung cancer was initiated. For this purpose, various biological specimens, such as DNA and RNA, were isolated from blood samples as well as from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded lung tissue. High-quality biomaterials suitable for OMICs research and the associated data on occupational radiation and dust exposure, and medical and lifestyle data from over 1000 individuals have been stored so far. Various experimental data, e.g., genome-wide SNPs, whole genome transcriptomic and miRNA data, as well as individual chromosomal aberration data from subgroups of biobank samples, are already available upon request for in-depth research on radiation-induced long-term effects, individual radiation susceptibility to lung cancer and radon-induced fingerprints in lung cancer. This biobank is the first systematic uranium miners´ biobank worldwide that is suitable for OMICs research on radiation-exposed workers. It offers the opportunity to link radiation-induced perturbations of biological pathways or processes and putative adverse outcome(s) by OMICs profiling at different biological organization levels.
Collapse
|
3
|
Rosenberger A, Hung RJ, Christiani DC, Caporaso NE, Liu G, Bojesen SE, Le Marchand L, Haiman CA, Albanes D, Aldrich MC, Tardon A, Fernández-Tardón G, Rennert G, Field JK, Kiemeney B, Lazarus P, Haugen A, Zienolddiny S, Lam S, Schabath MB, Andrew AS, Brunnsstöm H, Goodman GE, Doherty JA, Chen C, Teare MD, Wichmann HE, Manz J, Risch A, Muley TR, Johansson M, Brennan P, Landi MT, Amos CI, Pesch B, Johnen G, Brüning T, Bickeböller H, Gomolka M. Genetic modifiers of radon-induced lung cancer risk: a genome-wide interaction study in former uranium miners. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2018; 91:937-950. [PMID: 29971594 PMCID: PMC6375683 DOI: 10.1007/s00420-018-1334-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2018] [Accepted: 06/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Radon is a risk factor for lung cancer and uranium miners are more exposed than the general population. A genome-wide interaction analysis was carried out to identify genomic loci, genes or gene sets that modify the susceptibility to lung cancer given occupational exposure to the radioactive gas radon. METHODS Samples from 28 studies provided by the International Lung Cancer Consortium were pooled with samples of former uranium miners collected by the German Federal Office of Radiation Protection. In total, 15,077 cases and 13,522 controls, all of European ancestries, comprising 463 uranium miners were compared. The DNA of all participants was genotyped with the OncoArray. We fitted single-marker and in multi-marker models and performed an exploratory gene-set analysis to detect cumulative enrichment of significance in sets of genes. RESULTS We discovered a genome-wide significant interaction of the marker rs12440014 within the gene CHRNB4 (OR = 0.26, 95% CI 0.11-0.60, p = 0.0386 corrected for multiple testing). At least suggestive significant interaction of linkage disequilibrium blocks was observed at the chromosomal regions 18q21.23 (p = 1.2 × 10-6), 5q23.2 (p = 2.5 × 10-6), 1q21.3 (p = 3.2 × 10-6), 10p13 (p = 1.3 × 10-5) and 12p12.1 (p = 7.1 × 10-5). Genes belonging to the Gene Ontology term "DNA dealkylation involved in DNA repair" (GO:0006307; p = 0.0139) or the gene family HGNC:476 "microRNAs" (p = 0.0159) were enriched with LD-blockwise significance. CONCLUSION The well-established association of the genomic region 15q25 to lung cancer might be influenced by exposure to radon among uranium miners. Furthermore, lung cancer susceptibility is related to the functional capability of DNA damage signaling via ubiquitination processes and repair of radiation-induced double-strand breaks by the single-strand annealing mechanism.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Albert Rosenberger
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology, University Medical Center, Georg August University Göttingen, Humboldtallee 32, 37073, Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Rayjean J Hung
- Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health System, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - David C Christiani
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Neil E Caporaso
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Geoffrey Liu
- Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health System, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Stig E Bojesen
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Copenhagen General Population Study, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Loic Le Marchand
- Epidemiology Program, University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - Ch A Haiman
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Demetrios Albanes
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Melinda C Aldrich
- Division of Epidemiology, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Adonina Tardon
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Oviedo and CIBERESP, Oviedo, Spain
| | | | - Gad Rennert
- Clalit National Cancer Control Center at Carmel Medical Center and Technion Faculty of Medicine, Haifa, Israel
| | - John K Field
- Institute of Translational Medicine, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - B Kiemeney
- Departments of Health Evidence and Urology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Philip Lazarus
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Washington State University, Spokane, WA, USA
| | - Aage Haugen
- National Institute of Occupational Health, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Stephen Lam
- British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Matthew B Schabath
- Department of Cancer Epidemiology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Angeline S Andrew
- Department of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - Hans Brunnsstöm
- Laboratory Medicine Region Skåne, Department of Clinical Sciences and Pathology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Jennifer A Doherty
- Department of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine, Hanover, NH, USA
- Program in Epidemiology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Chu Chen
- Program in Epidemiology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - M Dawn Teare
- School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - H-Erich Wichmann
- Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München-German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany
- Institute of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Judith Manz
- Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum München-German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Research Unit of Molecular Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München-German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Angela Risch
- Thoraxklinik at University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
- Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg (TLRC-H), Heidelberg, Germany
- University of Salzburg and Cancer Cluster Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Thomas R Muley
- Thoraxklinik at University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
- Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg (TLRC-H), Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Paul Brennan
- International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization, Lyon, France
| | - Maria Teresa Landi
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Christopher I Amos
- Biomedical Data Science, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - Beate Pesch
- Institute for Prevention and Occupational Medicine of the German Social Accident Insurance, Institute of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (IPA), Bochum, Germany
| | - Georg Johnen
- Institute for Prevention and Occupational Medicine of the German Social Accident Insurance, Institute of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (IPA), Bochum, Germany
| | - Thomas Brüning
- Institute for Prevention and Occupational Medicine of the German Social Accident Insurance, Institute of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (IPA), Bochum, Germany
| | - Heike Bickeböller
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology, University Medical Center, Georg August University Göttingen, Humboldtallee 32, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Maria Gomolka
- Unit Biological Radiation Effects, Biological Dosimetry, Department of Radiation Protection and Health, Federal Office for Radiation Protection, BfS, Neuherberg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Habash M, Bohorquez LC, Kyriakou E, Kron T, Martin OA, Blyth BJ. Clinical and Functional Assays of Radiosensitivity and Radiation-Induced Second Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2017; 9:cancers9110147. [PMID: 29077012 PMCID: PMC5704165 DOI: 10.3390/cancers9110147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2017] [Revised: 10/24/2017] [Accepted: 10/24/2017] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Whilst the near instantaneous physical interaction of radiation energy with living cells leaves little opportunity for inter-individual variation in the initial yield of DNA damage, all the downstream processes in how damage is recognized, repaired or resolved and therefore the ultimate fate of cells can vary across the population. In the clinic, this variability is observed most readily as rare extreme sensitivity to radiotherapy with acute and late tissue toxic reactions. Though some radiosensitivity can be anticipated in individuals with known genetic predispositions manifest through recognizable phenotypes and clinical presentations, others exhibit unexpected radiosensitivity which nevertheless has an underlying genetic cause. Currently, functional assays for cellular radiosensitivity represent a strategy to identify patients with potential radiosensitivity before radiotherapy begins, without needing to discover or evaluate the impact of the precise genetic determinants. Yet, some of the genes responsible for extreme radiosensitivity would also be expected to confer susceptibility to radiation-induced cancer, which can be considered another late adverse event associated with radiotherapy. Here, the utility of functional assays of radiosensitivity for identifying individuals susceptible to radiotherapy-induced second cancer is discussed, considering both the common mechanisms and important differences between stochastic radiation carcinogenesis and the range of deterministic acute and late toxic effects of radiotherapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Habash
- Cancer Research Division, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, 305 Grattan Street, Parkville, VIC 3000, Australia.
- Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
| | - Luis C Bohorquez
- Physical Sciences, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, 305 Grattan Street, Parkville, VIC 3000, Australia.
| | - Elizabeth Kyriakou
- Physical Sciences, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, 305 Grattan Street, Parkville, VIC 3000, Australia.
| | - Tomas Kron
- Physical Sciences, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, 305 Grattan Street, Parkville, VIC 3000, Australia.
| | - Olga A Martin
- Cancer Research Division, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, 305 Grattan Street, Parkville, VIC 3000, Australia.
- Radiation Oncology and Cancer Imaging, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, 305 Grattan Street, Parkville, VIC 3000, Australia.
- The Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
| | - Benjamin J Blyth
- Cancer Research Division, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, 305 Grattan Street, Parkville, VIC 3000, Australia.
- Radiation Oncology and Cancer Imaging, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, 305 Grattan Street, Parkville, VIC 3000, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Druzhinin V, Bakanova M, Fucic A, Golovina T, Savchenko Y, Sinitsky M, Volobaev V. Lymphocytes with multiple chromosomal damages in a large cohort of West Siberia residents: Results of long-term monitoring. Mutat Res 2016; 784-785:1-7. [PMID: 26731314 DOI: 10.1016/j.mrfmmm.2015.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2015] [Revised: 10/26/2015] [Accepted: 12/14/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Cells with specific multiple chromosome aberrations, defined as rogue cells (RC) have been described in different populations, predominantly those exposed to radiation. The frequency, etiology and related health risks have still not been elucidated due to their low frequency of occurrences and rarely performed studies. This study reports RC frequency using chromosome aberration (CA) assay in peripheral lymphocytes in the group of 3242 subjects, during a 30-year long follow-up study in a general rural and urban population, children environmentally exposed to radon, occupationally exposed population and lung cancer patients from the Kemerovo region (Siberia, Russian Federation). Results show that the highest RC frequency was present in children environmentally exposed to radon and the lowest in the general urban population. Total frequency of CA did not correlate with frequency of RC. Genotoxic analysis of air and water samples excluded anthropogenic pollution as a possible cause of genome damage and RC frequency. In 85% of RCs, double minutes, observed in a large number of human tumors, were present. Results of CA analysis suggested that radon and its decay products (alpha-emitters) were the leading factors causing RC in subjects exposed to high LET radiation. Thus, RC may be a candidate biomarker for exposure to this type of radiation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir Druzhinin
- Kemerovo State University, Kemerovo, Russia; Federal State Budget Scientific Institution «The Federal Research Center of Coal and Coal Chemistry of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences», Kemerovo, Russian Federation
| | - Maria Bakanova
- Federal State Budget Scientific Institution «The Federal Research Center of Coal and Coal Chemistry of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences», Kemerovo, Russian Federation
| | - Aleksandra Fucic
- Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb, Croatia.
| | | | - Yana Savchenko
- Federal State Budget Scientific Institution «The Federal Research Center of Coal and Coal Chemistry of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences», Kemerovo, Russian Federation
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
6
|
Hornhardt S, Rößler U, Sauter W, Rosenberger A, Illig T, Bickeböller H, Wichmann HE, Gomolka M. Genetic factors in individual radiation sensitivity. DNA Repair (Amst) 2014; 16:54-65. [PMID: 24674628 DOI: 10.1016/j.dnarep.2014.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2013] [Revised: 01/31/2014] [Accepted: 02/01/2014] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Cancer risk and radiation sensitivity are often associated with alterations in DNA repair, cell cycle, or apoptotic pathways. Interindividual variability in mutagen or radiation sensitivity and in cancer susceptibility may also be traced back to polymorphisms of genes affecting e.g. DNA repair capacity. We studied possible associations between 70 polymorphisms of 12 DNA repair genes with basal and initial DNA damage and with repair thereof. We investigated DNA damage induced by ionizing radiation in lymphocytes isolated from 177 young lung cancer patients and 169 cancer-free controls. We also sought replication of our findings in an independent sample of 175 families (in total 798 individuals). DNA damage was assessed by the Olive tail moment (OTM) of the comet assay. DNA repair capacity (DRC) was determined for 10, 30 and, 60min of repair. Genes involved in the single-strand-repair pathway (SSR; like XRCC1 and MSH2) as well as genes involved in the double-strand-repair pathway (DSR; like RAD50, XRCC4, MRE11 and ATM) were found to be associated with DNA damage. The most significant association was observed for marker rs3213334 (p=0.005) of XRCC1 with basal DNA damage (B), in both cases and controls. A clear additive effect on the logarithm of OTM was identified for the marker rs1001581 of the same LD-block (p=0.039): BCC=-1.06 (95%-CI: -1.16 to -0.96), BCT=-1.02 (95%-CI: -1.11 to -0.93) and BTT=-0.85 (95%-CI: -1.01 to -0.68). In both cases and controls, we observed significantly higher DNA basal damage (p=0.007) for carriers of the genotype AA of marker rs2237060 of RAD50 (involved in DSR). However, this could not be replicated in the sample of families (p=0.781). An alteration to DRC after 30min of repair with respect to cases was observed as borderline significant for marker rs611646 of ATM (involved in DSR; p=0.055), but was the most significant finding in the sample of families (p=0.009). Our data indicate that gene variation impacts measurably on DNA damage and repair, suggesting at least a partial contribution to radiation sensitivity and lung cancer susceptibility.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Hornhardt
- Department of Radiation Protection and Health, Federal Office for Radiation Protection, Ingolstaedter Landstr.1, 85764 Oberschleissheim,Germany.
| | - Ute Rößler
- Department of Radiation Protection and Health, Federal Office for Radiation Protection, Ingolstaedter Landstr.1, 85764 Oberschleissheim,Germany.
| | - Wiebke Sauter
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Center Munich, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany.
| | - Albert Rosenberger
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology, University Medical Center, Georg-August-University Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Thomas Illig
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Center Munich, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany.
| | - Heike Bickeböller
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology, University Medical Center, Georg-August-University Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Hans-Erich Wichmann
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Center Munich, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany; Department of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, 80539 Munich, Germany.
| | - Maria Gomolka
- Department of Radiation Protection and Health, Federal Office for Radiation Protection, Ingolstaedter Landstr.1, 85764 Oberschleissheim,Germany.
| |
Collapse
|