The risk of childhood cancer from intrauterine and preconceptional exposure to ionizing radiation

Journal Article · Wed Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1995 · Environmental Health Perspectives

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.951031018· OSTI ID:427048

Wakeford, R ^[1]

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1. British Nuclear Fuels plc, Cheshire (United Kingdom)

The findings of studies investigating whether exposures to ionizing radiation before birth, either pre- or post-conception, increase the risk of childhood cancer have provoked much scientific controversy. An epidemiological association between the abdominal exposure or pregnant women to diagnostic X-rays and childhood cancer was first reported in the 1950s, while an association between the recorded dose of radiation received occupationally by fathers before the conception of their offspring and childhood leukemia was reported only recently in 1990. The scientific interpretation of these particular statistical associations is by no means straightforward, but the latest analyses of intrauterine irradiation and childhood cancer indicate that a causal inference is likely. Scientific committees have adopted risk coefficients for the intrauterine exposure of somatic tissues, which for childhood leukemia are comparable to those accepted for exposure in infancy, although questions remain about the level of risk of childhood solid tumors imparted by exposure to radiation in utero and shortly after birth. In contrast, the association has been found to be restricted to children born in one village, it does not extend to cancers other than leukemia, and it is markedly inconsistent with the established body of knowledge on radiation-induced hereditary disease. A causal interpretation of this association has effectively been abandoned by scientific authorities. 84 refs., 1 tab.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 427048
• Journal Information: Environmental Health Perspectives, Journal Name: Environmental Health Perspectives Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 103; ISSN EVHPAZ; ISSN 0091-6765
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
CHILDREN
IONIZING RADIATIONS
NEOPLASMS
PRENATAL EXPOSURE