High incidence of "MDS," preleukemic state, among those exposed within 1.5 kilometers of the hypocenter
Jun. 9, 2009
by Uzaemonnaotsuka Tokai, Staff Writer
It was revealed on June 7 that atomic bomb survivors (hibakusha) who experienced the atomic bombing within 1.5 kilometers of the hypocenter have up to a 3.8 times greater risk of developing myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a preleukemic state, than non-hibakusha. Several cases of elderly hibakusha who developed leukemia have been reported in recent years, a situation that may clarify the mechanism by which leukemia develops decades after hibakusha were exposed to the atomic bombings.
On June 7, Masao Tomonaga, director of the Japanese Red Cross Nagasaki Genbaku Hospital, reported the findings at the Annual Meeting on the Late Effects of the Atomic Bomb, held in downtown Hiroshima. The Atomic Bomb Disease Institute at Nagasaki University School of Medicine, where Dr. Tomonaga worked, and the Nagasaki Laboratory of the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) conducted the joint research on the issue. They have analyzed the cases of 151 hibakusha out of the 605 patients who had been diagnosed as having MDS at five hospitals in the city of Nagasaki from 1985 to 2004.
The result of the research shows that hibakusha who were under 20 at the time of the bombing and exposed to the atomic bombing within 1.5 kilometers of the hypocenter face a risk of developing MDS that is 3.8 times greater than non-hibakusha, while the risk for hibakusha who were then 20 or older is 1.5 times higher than for non-hibakusha.
It had been believed, based on research by RERF, that hibakusha were developing leukemia within ten years of the atomic bombings in most cases. But successive cases of elderly hibakusha developing leukemia have been reported in recent years, and Dr. Tomonaga noted, “There is the possibility that the atomic bombings have damaged the stem cells of hibakusha and induced the development of leukemia over a long period of time.”
The Annual Meeting on the Late Effects of the Atomic Bomb was organized by the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Casualty Council. Roughly 200 people attended the meeting, the 50th one, where three special lectures were held and 33 research presentations were given.
(Originally published on June 8, 2009)
It was revealed on June 7 that atomic bomb survivors (hibakusha) who experienced the atomic bombing within 1.5 kilometers of the hypocenter have up to a 3.8 times greater risk of developing myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a preleukemic state, than non-hibakusha. Several cases of elderly hibakusha who developed leukemia have been reported in recent years, a situation that may clarify the mechanism by which leukemia develops decades after hibakusha were exposed to the atomic bombings.
On June 7, Masao Tomonaga, director of the Japanese Red Cross Nagasaki Genbaku Hospital, reported the findings at the Annual Meeting on the Late Effects of the Atomic Bomb, held in downtown Hiroshima. The Atomic Bomb Disease Institute at Nagasaki University School of Medicine, where Dr. Tomonaga worked, and the Nagasaki Laboratory of the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) conducted the joint research on the issue. They have analyzed the cases of 151 hibakusha out of the 605 patients who had been diagnosed as having MDS at five hospitals in the city of Nagasaki from 1985 to 2004.
The result of the research shows that hibakusha who were under 20 at the time of the bombing and exposed to the atomic bombing within 1.5 kilometers of the hypocenter face a risk of developing MDS that is 3.8 times greater than non-hibakusha, while the risk for hibakusha who were then 20 or older is 1.5 times higher than for non-hibakusha.
It had been believed, based on research by RERF, that hibakusha were developing leukemia within ten years of the atomic bombings in most cases. But successive cases of elderly hibakusha developing leukemia have been reported in recent years, and Dr. Tomonaga noted, “There is the possibility that the atomic bombings have damaged the stem cells of hibakusha and induced the development of leukemia over a long period of time.”
The Annual Meeting on the Late Effects of the Atomic Bomb was organized by the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Casualty Council. Roughly 200 people attended the meeting, the 50th one, where three special lectures were held and 33 research presentations were given.
(Originally published on June 8, 2009)
