1. Comment.
- Author
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Whittemore, Alice S.
- Subjects
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CONTAMINATION of drinking water , *LEUKEMIA in children , *WATER pollution , *LEUKEMIA , *WELLS , *EPIDEMIOLOGY , *TRICHLOROETHYLENE , *CARCINOGENS , *CHILDREN , *HOUSEHOLDS , *HEALTH - Abstract
Children from households served by the contaminated wells had significantly greater leukemia rates than did children from other households. The article does not tell much about the consistency of the leukemia-drinking water association in relation to other epidemiological studies. It is provocative that unexplained clusters of childhood leukemias have been found in many parts of the world. There is biological plausibility to associations between ingested carcinogens and any one of the malignancies collectively called leukemia. The theory that stem cells become malignant after withstanding damage to the genome caused by chemical binding to cellular macromolecules has received ample support from experimental and observational data. The coherence of the drinking water-leukemia association measures its agreement with other facts known about leukemias, including their natural history. There is good evidence that in utero exposure to ionizing radiation causes leukemia during childhood. This fact suggests that prenatal exposures to other carcinogens can cause leukemia and, therefore, it supports the present association. Also supportive of causality is the increased risk for leukemia among those with Down's syndrome, since the Woburn study also found an association between the well water and birth defect.
- Published
- 1986
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