Incidence studies on childhood malignancies in the vicinity of German nuclear power plants 

OBJECTIVES: The study was performed to validate exploratory results obtained in a former study on the incidence rates of childhood malignancies in the vicinity of German nuclear power plants and to evaluate the confirmatory results of this previous study. METHODS: Incidence rates near German nuclear installations were compared to rates in control regions based on the German Childhood Cancer Registry. RESULTS: No exploratory result could be reproduced. This is also true
for children with acute leukemia younger than 5 years who were living within a 5 km radius of an installation: an observed relative risk (RR) of 1.39 was not significantly increased (95 percent confidence interval CI: 0.69-2.57). Former confirmatory results could be confirmed again. A pooled analysis of bothstudies based on 2390 cases resulted in RR of 0.99 for all malignancies (CI: 0.91-1.07) and of 1.00 for acute leukemias (CI: 0.87-1.16) (children younger than 15 years of age living within a 15 km radius). CONCLUSIONS: Results did not show significantly increased incidence rates for any subgroup with previously significant exploratory results. Therefore, it appears to be most likely that the previous results were just due to chance. Evaluating the previously confirmatory results with the combined data from the two study periods reassures that incidence rates are not increased in children younger than 15 years who are living within a 15 km radius, either for all malignancies or for acute leukemias. We conclude that at present, in Germany no further investigations of this kind are necessary.

KAATSCH, P., KALETSCH, U., MEINERT, R., MICHAELIS, J.
An extended study on childhood malignancies in the vicinity of German nuclear power plants. Cancer Causes Control 9, 529-533, 1998.
 

KALETSCH, U., MEINERT, R., MIESNER, A., HOISL, M., KAATSCH, P., MICHAELIS, J.
Epidemiologische Studien zum Auftreten von Leukämieerkrankungen bei Kindern in Deutschland, Schriftenreihe Reaktorsicherheit und Strahlenschutz, Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit, GFM Dossenheim 1997.
 

The incidence of childhood malignancies in 20 areas surrounding major nuclear installations is compared with the incidence in matched control regions. The study is based on the registry of childhood malignancies in the Federal Republic of Germany and includes 1,610 cases which were diagnosed before 15 years of age from 1980 to 1990. The relative risk (RR) was 0.97 for all malignancies and 1.06 for acute leukemia in all regions within a 15 km radius of an installation. Increased RR was observed in subgroups for acute leukemia before five years of age and for lymphomas, especially in regions close to installations (less than 5 km) which started operation before 1970. Most of this increase was attributable to an unexpectedly low incidence in the control regions which could not be explained by analyzing possible confounding factors. Using the same control regions, a comparable and even more pronounced increase of RRs was observed in regions where nuclear power plants have been projected.

MICHAELIS, J., KELLER, B., HAAF, G., KAATSCH, P.
Incidence of childhood malignancies in the vicinity of West German nuclear power plants, Cancer Causes & Control 3, 255-263, 1992.
 

Further publications:

MICHAELIS, J., HAAF, G., KAATSCH, P., KELLER, B.
Krebserkrankungen im Kindesalter in der Umgebung westdeutscher kerntechnischer Anlagen, Dt. Ärzteblatt 30, 2538-2544, 1992.

KELLER, B., HAAF, G., KAATSCH, P., MICHAELIS, J.
Untersuchung der Häufigkeit von Krebserkrankungen im Kindesalter in der Umgebung westdeutscher kerntechnischer Anlagen, Schriftenreihe Reaktorsicherheit und Strahlenschutz, Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit, GFM Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, 1992.

KELLER, B., HAAF, G., KAATSCH, P., MICHAELIS, J.
Ergebnisse der Inzidenzstudie über maligne Erkrankungen im Kindesalter in der Umgebung kerntechnischer Anlagen, S. 24-27 in Michaelis, J., Hommel, G., Wellek, S. (Hrsg.), Europäische Perspektiven der Medizinischen Informatik, Biometrie und Epidemiologie, MMV, Medizin Verlag München, 1993.