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Gary H. Lyman, MD, MPH; Carolyn Lyman, RN; Wallace Johnson
H. Lee Moffitt Hospital and Cancer Research Institute at the University of South Florida J. A. Haley Veterans Hospital Tampa, Fla

JAMA. 1986;255(7):902-903.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

In Reply.—

We share the concerns expressed by Dr Wishart that any risk of leukemia associated with radium water contamination must be kept in perspective. In Florida, the leukemia incidence of nine cases per 100,000 person-years compares with 91 cases for lung cancer and 481 cases for all types of cancer, with perhaps one third of these directly related to tobacco use. The importance of leukemia studies, however, often exceeds what is suggested by only paying attention to case numbers. As addressed in our article, the choice of leukemia for this study was based on its recognized association with radiation and the relatively short latency period from exposure to disease onset. While these factors may have permitted the measurement of an effect, the results could improve our understanding of environmental carcinogenesis and the cause of more common malignancies.

It is puzzling that Dr Wishart criticizes interim recommendations regarding existing contamination . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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