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Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine
Published in: Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine 3/2012

01-05-2012 | Regular Article

Cancer mortality among atomic bomb survivors exposed as children

Authors: Hitomi Goto, Tomoyuki Watanabe, Masaru Miyao, Hiromi Fukuda, Yuzo Sato, Yoshiharu Oshida

Published in: Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine | Issue 3/2012

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Abstract

Objectives

To compare cancer mortality among A-bomb survivors exposed as children with cancer mortality among an unexposed control group (the entire population of Japan, JPCG).

Methods

The subjects were the Hiroshima and Nagasaki A-bomb survivor groups (0–14 years of age in 1945) reported in life span study report 12 (follow-up years were from 1950 to 1990), and a control group consisting of the JPCG. We estimated the expected number of deaths due to all causes and cancers of various causes among the exposed survivors who died in the follow-up interval, if they had died with the same mortality as the JPCG (0–14 years of age in 1945). We calculated the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of A-bomb survivors in comparison with the JPCG.

Results

SMRs were significantly higher in exposed boys overall for all deaths, all cancers, leukemia, and liver cancer, and for exposed girls overall for all cancers, solid cancers, liver cancer, and breast cancer. In boys, SMRs were significantly higher for all deaths and liver cancer even in those exposed to very low doses, and for all cancers, solid cancers, and liver cancer in those exposed to low doses. In girls, SMRs were significantly higher for liver cancer and uterine cancer in those exposed to low doses, and for leukemia, solid cancers, stomach cancer, and breast cancer in those exposed to high doses.

Conclusions

We calculated the SMRs for the A-bomb survivors versus JPCG in childhood and compared them with a true non-exposed group. A notable result was that SMRs in boys exposed to low doses were significantly higher for solid cancer.
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Metadata
Title
Cancer mortality among atomic bomb survivors exposed as children
Authors
Hitomi Goto
Tomoyuki Watanabe
Masaru Miyao
Hiromi Fukuda
Yuzo Sato
Yoshiharu Oshida
Publication date
01-05-2012
Publisher
Springer Japan
Published in
Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine / Issue 3/2012
Print ISSN: 1342-078X
Electronic ISSN: 1347-4715
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12199-011-0246-6

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