Effect of Heterogeneity in Background Incidence on Inference about the Solid-Cancer Radiation Dose Response in Atomic Bomb Survivors by Cologne et al., Radiat Res 2019; 192:388–398.

The results from the Life Span Study (LSS) of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors, particularly those from the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF), are central to guiding radiation protection endeavors. For example, the three reports, with ever increasing epidemiological follow-up, on solid cancer incidence among the Japanese atomic bomb survivors, culminating with the third most recent report (1 ) based on 22,538 first primary solid cancer cases. Applying a linear dose response model (adjusted for smoking) for all solid cancers combined, Grant and coworkers (1 ) obtained a sex-averaged excess relative risk (ERR) per unit colon dose of 0.47/Gy [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.39 to 0.55] and sex-specific risks of 0.33/Gy (95% CI: 0.25 to 0.42) for males, and 0.60/Gy (95% CI: 0.49 to 0.72) for females. In terms of radiological protection these ERR/Gy results were highly consistent with...