Petridou E, Trichopoulos D, Dessypris N, Flytzani V, Haidas S, Kalmanti M, Koliouskas D, Kosmidis H, Piperopoulou F, Tzortzatou F
Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Nature. 1996 Jul 25;382(6589):352-3. doi: 10.1038/382352a0.
There has been no documented increase in childhood leukaemia following the Chernobyl accident. However, different forms of childhood leukaemia may not be equally susceptible to radiation carcinogenesis. Infant leukaemia is a distinct form associated with a specific genetic abnormality. Outside the former Soviet Union, contamination resulting from the Chernobyl accident has been highest in Greece and Austria and high also in the Scandinavian countries. All childhood leukaemia cases diagnosed throughout Greece since 1 January 1980 have been recorded. Here we report that infants exposed in utero to ionizing radiation from the Chernobyl accident had 2.6 times the incidence of leukaemia compared to unexposed children (95% confidence interval, 1.4 to 5.1; P approximately 0.003), and those born to mothers residing in regions with high radioactive fallout were at higher risk of developing infant leukaemia. No significant difference in leukaemia incidence was found among children aged 12 to 47 months. Preconceptional irradiation had no demonstrable effect on leukaemia risk at any of the studied age groups.
切尔诺贝利事故之后，并无记录显示儿童白血病发病率有所增加。然而，不同类型的儿童白血病对辐射致癌作用的易感性可能不尽相同。婴儿白血病是一种与特定基因异常相关的独特类型。在前苏联以外地区，切尔诺贝利事故造成的污染在希腊和奥地利最为严重，在斯堪的纳维亚国家也很严重。自1980年1月1日起希腊境内诊断出的所有儿童白血病病例均有记录。我们在此报告，与未暴露儿童相比，在子宫内受到切尔诺贝利事故电离辐射的婴儿患白血病的发病率是其2.6倍（95%置信区间为1.4至5.1；P约为0.003），并且母亲居住在放射性沉降物水平高的地区的婴儿患白血病的风险更高。在12至47个月大的儿童中，未发现白血病发病率有显著差异。在任何研究年龄组中，孕前辐射对白血病风险均无明显影响。
