Dose-response analyses among atomic bomb survivors exposed to low-level radiation.

An analysis of the dose response within the low-dose range (as here defined, doses of less than 50 cGy (50 rad) was conducted among A-bomb survivors in the ABCC-RERF cohort in an attempt to detect the phenomenon of radiation hormesis, if it is present. These studies include as endpoints cancer mortality, cancer incidence, the frequency of cells with chromosomal aberrations, the phytohemagglutinin response of peripheral lymphocytes and the frequency of mental retardation among survivors exposed in utero. In general, the dose response for these indices of radiation damage varied among comparison groups within the low-dose range, but failed to suggest the existence of radiation hormesis.