01 Jul Occupational Exposure To Low Dose Radiation Linked To Leukemia
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr Klervi Leuraud, Epidemiologist
Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety
Cedex, France
MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Leuraud: INWORKS was performed to quantify the risk of cancer mortality associated to protracted low doses of ionizing radiation typical of occupational or environmental exposures, as well as of diagnostic medical exposures. While such risks are well known for acute exposures as those experienced by the Japanese survivors of the A-bombs, there is still a lack of information for exposures experienced by the workers and the public. Our study confirms the existence of an association between leukemia mortality and chronic exposure to low doses received by nuclear workers.
MedicalResearch: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Dr. Leuraud: Transposition of our results to other exposure situations should be done cautiously. Nevertheless, our results reinforce the importance of adopting radiological protection equipment by the medical staff, and the need for justification for exposures to patients.
What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Dr. Leuraud: We conducted this study among nuclear workers as these historical cohorts provide detailed information on individual exposure to ionizing radiation. Similar studies should be conducted among medical workers to take account of the specificity of their exposures to provide new insight on the radiation-related risk they are possibly exposed to.
CITATION:
Leuraud, Klervi et al. The Lancet Haematology
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2352-3026(15)00094-0
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Dr Klervi Leuraud, Epidemiologist, & Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (2015). Occupational Exposure To Low Dose Radiation Linked To Leukemia
Last Updated on October 24, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD