Fukushima Aftermath/Radiation cancer

Radiation cancer may occur following ionizing radiation exposure following a latent period averaging 20 to 40 years.James, William D.; Berger, Timothy G.; et al. Andrews' Diseases of the Skin: clinical Dermatology Saunders Elsevier 2006 0-7216-2921-0 Gawkrodger DJ Occupational skin cancers Occup Med (Lond) 54 7 458–63 2004 October 15486177 10.1093/occmed/kqh098 Various malignancies may develop, most frequency basal-cell carcinoma followed by squamous-cell carcinoma.Hurko O, Provost TT Neurology and the skin J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. 66 4 417–30 1999 April 10201411 1736315 10.1136/jnnp.66.4.417 http://openurl.ebscohost.com/linksvc/linking.aspx?genre=article&sid=PubMed&issn=0022-3050&title=J%20Neurol%20Neurosurg%20Psychiatry&volume=66&issue=4&spage=417&atitle=Neurology%20and%20the%20skin.&aulast=Hurko&date=1999Suárez B, López-Abente G, Martínez C, et al Occupation and skin cancer: the results of the HELIOS-I multicenter case-control study BMC Public Health 7 180 2007 17655745 1994683 10.1186/1471-2458-7-180 Elevated risk is confined to the site of radiation exposure.Lichter, et al. "Therapeutic ionizing radiation and the incidence of basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. The New Hampshire Skin Cancer Study Group." Arch Dermatol. 2000 Aug;136(8):1007-11. Several studies have also suggested the possibility of a causal relationship between melanoma and ionizing radiation exposure.Fink CA, Bates MN Melanoma and ionizing radiation: is there a causal relationship? Radiat. Res. 164 5 701–10 2005 November 16238450 10.1667/RR3447.1 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/melanoma.html The degree of carcinogenic risk arising from low levels of exposure is more contentious, but the available evidence points to an increased risk that is approximately proportional to the dose received.Wakeford R The cancer epidemiology of radiation Oncogene 23 38 6404–28 2004 August 15322514 10.1038/sj.onc.1207896 Radiologists and radiologic technologists are among the earliest occupational groups exposed to radiation. It was the observation of the earliest radiologists that led to the recognition of radiation-induced skin cancer—the first solid cancer linked to radiation—in 1902.Yoshinaga S, Mabuchi K, Sigurdson AJ, Doody MM, Ron E Cancer risks among radiologists and radiologic technologists: review of epidemiologic studies Radiology 233 2 313–21 2004 November 15375227 10.1148/radiol.2332031119 While the incidence of skin cancer secondary to medical ionizing radiation was higher in the past, there is also some evidence that risks of certain cancers, notably skin cancer, may be increased among more recent medical radiation workers, and this may be related to specific or changing radiologic practices. Available evidence indicates that the excess risk of skin cancer lasts for 45 years or more following irradiation.Shore RE Radiation-induced skin cancer in humans Med. Pediatr. Oncol. 36 5 549–54 2001 May 11340610 10.1002/mpo.1128 References