An extended study on childhood malignancies in the vicinity of German nuclear power plants

Objectives: The study was performed to validate exploratory results obtaine d in a former study on the incidence rates of childhood malignancies in the vicinity of German nuclear power plants and to evaluate the confirmatory r esults 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. Re sults: No exploratory result could be reproduced. This is also true for chi ldren with acute leukemia younger than 5 years who were living within a 5 k m 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), Fo rmer confirmatory results could be confirmed again. A pooled analysis of bo th studies 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 y ounger than 15 years of age living within a 15 km radius). Conclusions: Results did not show significantly increased incidence rates f or any subgroup with previously significant exploratory results. Therefore, it appears to be most likely that the previous results were just due to ch ance. Evaluating the previously confirmatory results with the combined data from the two study periods reassures that incidence rates are not increase d in children younger than 15 years who are living within a 15 km radius, e ither for all malignancies or for acute leukemias. We conclude that at pres ent, in Germany no further investigations of this kind are necessary.