Radiation-leukaemia Link: More Evidence

It seems that the latest findings reflect "more damage than previously thought" from exposure to radiation. This linkage is not new. Marie Curie died of leukaemia, but it's usually discounted when 'low doses' are considered.

Study Finds More Evidence of Aircrew-Leukaemia Link

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists said on Friday they had discovered new evidence to link cosmic radiation, to which regular flyers are exposed, with leukaemia.

But they stressed the number of leukaemia cases among aircrew was still small and that a person would have to fly thousands of hours before there was any risk to their health.

Danish researchers published their latest findings in The Lancet, a year after establishing that airline pilots and flight attendants could be exposed to higher risks of leukaemia and other cancers.

Their original findings were based on observations of 3,700 pilots and crew members who had flown more than 5,000 hours.

Scientist Maryanne Gundestrup of Copenhagen's Institute of Cancer Epidemiology said 4 of 7 aircrews tested who had acute myeloid leukaemia or its precursor myelodysplasia showed deletion or loss of chromosome 7 in the human cell.

The same symptom was found in 8 of 19 patients suffering from those conditions and who had undergone radiotherapy treatment exposing them to high levels of radiation.

``This story adds to suspicions that leukaemia in aircrew could be caused by cosmic radiation,'' Gundestrup told Reuters.

``What has never been published is that the special chromosome damage in people treated by radiotherapy is the same as that in the aircrew,'' she explained.

While the study called for more research on the subject, Gundestrup said travelling by air was unlikely to measurably increase the chances of a person developing leukaemia.

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