Blood, 1958, Vol. 13, No. 9, pp. 845-864.
© 1958 American Society of Hematology, Inc.
Factors Influencing the Incidence of Leukemia: Special
Consideration of the Role of Ionizing Radiation
E. E. SCHWARTZ 1 and
A. C. UPTON 1
1 Biology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This
Laboratory is operated by Union Carbide Nuclear Company for the U. S. Atomic Energy
Commission.
The recorded incidence of leukemia and lymphomas has markedly increased
during the past 30 years. During the same interval the amount of ionizing
radiation in the environment has been steadily increased by man-made additions to the natural background.
The possibility that radiation may account in part for an increasing incidence of leukemia is suggested by the more frequent development of the
disease in those exposed to large amounts of radiation.
Although the extent of increase in the risk of leukemia cannot be determined
accurately from the recorded rates and the relation between leukemia incidence and radiation dose cannot be estimated precisely, it appears probable
that radiation is only one of many environmental agents influencing the occurrence of the disease.
Other factors associated with the changing standard of living, such as the
increasing use of marrow-depressing drugs and the growing contamination
of the atmosphere with chemical pollutants, deserve further investigation as
leukemogenic influences.
Submitted on February 20, 1958
Accepted on April 12, 1958
