Naomi H. Harley

Skin Cancer Incidence among Children Irradiated for Ringworm of the Scalp

A series of about 2200 children who received X-ray treatment for ringworm of the scalp (tinea capitis) during the 1940s and 1950s, and a comparable group of 1400 treated without X ray, have been followed by mail questionnaire for an average of 26 years since treatment to tabulate the incidence of skin cancer. The X-ray treatment consisted of 300-380 R to five overlapping fields on the scalp, to cause complete depilation. This delivered doses of 300-600 rad to various portions of the scalp, with lower doses to the skin of the face and neck. In the irradiated group, 41 persons have had one or more basal cell carcinomas of the scalp or face while only three have been diagnosed in controls. There was a high prevalence of multiple skin cancers in the irradiated group (80 lesions among 41 cases). The minimum latent period for radiation-induced skin cancers was long--about 20 years--and this may be attributable to the young age of the population. The skin cancer risk was particularly pronounced on the face, where there would be more UVR exposure in addition to X-ray exposure. Lightness of complexion proved to be an important factor in the skin cancer risk. In addition, skin cancers were found only among caucasians, even though 25% of the study population were blacks. These findings suggest that UVR exposure levels or sensitivity to such exposure interact with ionizing radiation exposure in defining skin cancer risk.

Skin Cancer after X-Ray Treatment for Scalp Ringworm

Abstract Shore, R. E., Moseson, M., Xue, X., Tse, Y., Harley, N. and Pasternack, B. S. Skin Cancer after X-Ray Treatment for Scalp Ringworm. Radiat. Res. 157, 410–418 (2002). Some 2,224 children given X-ray therapy for tinea capitis (ringworm of the scalp) have been followed for up to 50 years to determine cancer incidence, along with a control group of 1,380 tinea capitis patients given only topical medications. The study found a relative risk (RR) of 3.6 (95% confidence interval, 2.3–5.9) for basal cell skin cancer (BCC) of the head and neck among irradiated Caucasians (124 irradiated cases and 21 control cases), in response to a scalp dose of about 4.8 Gy. No melanomas of the head and neck have been seen, and only a few squamous cell carcinomas. About 40% of irradiated cases have had multiple BCCs, for a total of 328 BCCs. Although 25% of both the irradiated and control groups are African-American, only 3 skin cancers have been seen among them, all in the irradiated group, indicating the importance of susceptibility to UV radiation as a cofactor. Light complexion, severe sunburning and North European ancestry were predictive of BCC risk in the irradiated group, but chronic sun exposure was not. Children irradiated at young ages had the highest BCC risk. The RR for BCC risk is approximately constant with time since exposure, suggesting that risk will probably last for a lifetime.

Aerosols handbook : measurement, dosimetry, and health effects

Medical and Pharmaceutical Aerosols Stephen Marek, Hugh D.C. Smyth, Lucila Garcia-Contreras, Daniel J. Cooney, Robert J. Garmise, Latarsha D. Jones, and Anthony J. Hickey Breathing Zone Exposure Assessment Charles E. Rodes and Jonathan W. Thornburg Mechanisms of Particle Deposition Jacky A. Rosati, Kristin K. Isaacs, and Ted B. Martonen Aerosol Dose Lev S. Ruzer, Michael G. Apte, and Richard G. Sextro Modeling Deposition of Inhaled Particles Kristin K. Isaacs, Jacky A. Rosati, and Ted B. Martonen Aerosol Chemistry and Physics: An Indoor Perspective Lara A. Gundel and Hugo Destaillats NEW - Chemical Analyses of Particle Filter Deposits Judith C. Chow and John G. Watson Health Effects of Ambient Ultrafine Particles Beverly S. Cohen NEW - Nanoparticle Cell Penetration Steven M. Hankin and Craig A. Poland NEW - High Aspect Ratio Nanomaterials: Characterization and Toxicology Steven M. Hankin and Craig A. Poland NEW - Research and Development of a New Safe Form of Drugs T.G. Tolstikova, A.A. Onischuk, I.V. Sorokina, A.M. Baklanov, V.V. Karasev, V.V. Boldyrev, V.M. Fomin, T. Tolstikova, M. Khvostov, A. Bryzgalov, and G. Tolstikov Bioaerosols Janet M. Macher, Jeroen Douwes, Brad Prezant, and Tiina Reponen NEW - Atmospheric Pollution Related to Climate Change George D. Thurston and Michelle L. Bell NEW - Health Effects of Metals in Ambient Air Particular Matter Morton Lippmann Radioactive Aerosols Lev S. Ruzer NEW - Unattached Fraction of Radon Progeny as an Experimental Tool in the Assessment of the Risk of Nanoparticles Lev S. Ruzer Filtration and Sampling of Aerosols by Fibrous Filters A.K. Budyka, A.A. Kirsch, and B.I. Ogorodnikov Radioactive Aerosols of Chernobyl Accident A.K. Budyka and B.I. Ogorodnikov NEW - Classical Nucleation Theory: Account of Dependence of the Surface Tension on Curvature and Translation-Rotation Correction Factor S.V. Vosel, A.A. Onischuk, P.A. Purtov, and T.G. Tolstikova Radioactive Aerosol Standards Lev S. Ruzer, Yu.V. Kuznetzov, V.L. Kustova, D.E. Fertman, and A.I. Rizin Radon and Thoron in the Environment: Concentrations and Lung Cancer Risk Naomi H. Harley Inhalation of the Long-Lived Radionuclides Uranium, Thorium, and Fallout Plutonium in the Atmosphere Isabel M. Fisenne Health Effects of Aerosols: Mechanisms and Epidemiology Ira B. Tager Index

Tumors and other diseases following childhood x-ray treatment for ringworm of the scalp (Tinea capitis).

Abstract— The objective of the study is to characterize the risk of tumors from radiation exposure to the head and neck. A cohort of 2,224 children given x-ray treatment and 1,380 given only topical medications for ringworm of the scalp (tinea capitis) during 1940–1959 have been followed up for a median of 39 y to determine tumor incidence. Follow-ups were by mail/telephone questionnaire, with 84–88% of the original cohort followed and with medical verification of diseases of interest. Sixteen intracranial tumors [7 brain cancers, 4 meningiomas, and 5 acoustic neuromas (vestibular schwannomas)] occurred in the x-irradiated group following an average brain dose of about 1.4 Gy, compared to 1 acoustic neuroma in the control group. The standardized incidence ratio (SIR) for brain cancer was 3.0 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.3, 5.9]. Even though the dose to the thyroid gland was only about 60 mGy, 2 thyroid cancers were found in the irradiated group vs. none among controls, and 11 vs. 1 thyroid adenomas were found in the respective groups. Following an average dose of about 4 Gy to cranial marrow, 8 cases of leukemia (SIR = 3.2, CI: 1.5, 6.1) were observed in the irradiated group and 1 in the control group. There was also a suggestive excess of blood dyscrasias. There was no difference between the groups in the frequency of other cancers of the head and neck (excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer) or in total mortality.

A model for predicting lung cancer risks induced by environmental levels of radon daughters.

An estimate of the possible annual lung cancer incidence and the lifetime risk from exposure to environmental levels of radon daughters is presented. The model developed to do this accounts for the apparent increase in the lifetime tumor risk with increasing age of first (exposure that has been noted in epidemiological studies of underground uranium miners. The model predicts that if the higher level mining exposures can be used to extrapolate to environmental exposures, then from about one-fifth to all of the spontaneous (nonsmoking related) bronchogenic lung cancer may be attributed to this source. It appears reasonable to use this model for predicting effects due to elevated environmental exposures.

Follow-up study of patients treated by X-ray epilation for tinea capitis. Estimation of the dose to the thyroid and pituitary glands and other structures of the head and neck

This study is a further investigation of radiation dose to various head structures in the children given X-ray therapy for tinea capitis (ringworm of the scalp). In this work, estimates of the dose to the thyroid and pituitary gland were obtained with lithium fluoride thermoluminescent dosemeters using a childs head phantom. Doses were also measured for the parotid gland and several skin sites where skin tumours developed in the irradiated cases. In a previous study, brain and scalp doses of 140 and 500-800 rad had been estimated for the treated group using this same head phantom. In this work dosemeters were also placed in the same brain locations so that comparisons could be obtained between the two studies. The thyroid dose was estimated to be 6 +/- 2 rad and the pituitary dose was 49 +/- 6 rad for the conventional tinea capitis treatment. The dose to the parotid gland was 39 rad and the dose to skin sites on the face and neck where tumours occurred ranged from 20 to 40 rad. The data for the thyroid adenoma response from this and other studies involving irradiation of children suggests a linear dose-response relationship within the first 30-40 years after exposure with a risk of about 0-04% per rad.

Measured intake and excretion patterns of naturally occurring 234U, 238U, and calcium in humans.

The normal dietary and fluid intake and urinary and fecal excretion of 234U and 238U were determined in humans under strictly controlled conditions in the Metabolic Research Ward at Hines Hospital. These values formed the basis of the metabolic balances of these uranium isotopes. The major pathway of 234U and of 238U excretion was via the intestine while the urinary 234U and 238U were very low, averaging 2% of the total excretion. The uranium balances were roughly in equilibrium. These data were used in combination with measurements of tissue concentrations of uranium from nonoccupationally exposed humans to calculate steady-state uptake factors for environmental exposure to uranium isotopes during baseline conditions of a normal dietary intake.

Alpha radioactivity in cigarette smoke

The ..cap alpha.. activity of cigarette smoke tar deposited onto membrane filters was found to be associated with the relatively insoluble fraction. Perfusion of the tar with physiological saline resulted in no change in the mean measured activity, but there was more variability in the measured values for the perfused tar than for the initial tar samples. Analysis of cigarette smoke condensate shows that radium and thorium are present, but over 99% of the ..cap alpha.. activity results from /sup 210/Po. Repeat measurements after a time lapse of 2 1/2 years indicate that the initial /sup 210/Pb content of the tar is roughly 30 to 40% of the original /sup 210/Po content for both unprocessed and perfused samples. An increase in the ..cap alpha.. activity concentration of smoke deposited in lung tissue may result from the lack of solubility of the radioactive material compared with other smoke constituents.

Measured 234,238U and Fallout 239,240Pu in Human Bone Ash from Nepal and Australia: Skeletal Alpha Dose

Human bone samples from Nepal and Australia were analyzed for isotopic uranium and fallout plutonium. The Nepalese samples were obtained for a 3-yr period (1976-78) while the Australian samples are representative of a single year (1977). The surface air plutonium concentrations for the latitude bands of these countries were either measured and/or estimated from 1954 through 1978. With the plutonium air concentrations and age-dependent breathing rates as input data, the measured human bone results were compared with skeletal estimates derived from the ICRP Task Group Inhalation Model, and the agreement was found to be reasonably good. The measured isotopic uranium concentrations in these samples provide a benchmark against which to assess fallout plutonium based upon a comparison of the skeletal alpha radiation dose from a natural actinide to these populations.

Environmental Radon Daughter Alpha Dose Factors in a Five-lobed Human Lung

The alpha dose from 222Rn daughters per unit exposure (rad per WLM or rad per year per pCi 222Rn/m3) to basal cells in bronchial epithelium in a five-lobed human male lung is calculated. These factors are then derived for women, children and infants by scaling the dimensions of the male lung. The 222Rn daughter characteristics chosen are those typical of environmental atmospheres. Both active and resting breathing patterns are utilized in the calculations to yield the overall dose per unit exposure in typical population exposures.