Leukemia, Lymphoma, and Multiple Myeloma Incidence in the LSS Cohort: 1950–2001

Leukemia was one of the first late health effects of radiation exposure observed among the atomic bomb survivors, initially appearing in the late 1940s. Several Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission/Radiation Effects Research Foundation studies have reported a highly significant radiation-associated excess risk for leukemia, although the evidence for increased risks of lymphoma and myeloma are less clear in the Life Span Study (LSS) cohort. As this cohort ages, the number of incident leukemia and lymphoma cases continues to increase. The current analyses update the incidence risk estimates with a particular focus on how the radiationassociated excess risk varies with age at exposure, gender, and attained age or time since exposure. Consideration is also given to characterization of curvature in the leukemia dose response.