W. H. ADAMS: LATE MEDICAL CONSEQUENCES OF EXPOSURE TO RADIOACTIVE -ES \ND TIME —_—— incidence has been viewed as evidence of improvedoverall health of some populations because it reflects improvements in longevity. Third, in attempting to determine whether there has been an increase in cancer deaths in the exposed Marshallese it should be noted that from 1950-1985 there had been 5936 cancer deaths among 75,991 A-bombsurvivors. Three hundred andforty of these (6% of the total cancer deaths) are thoughtto be attributable to the 1945 radiation exposure (21). Table 7 Fatal cancers, exposed and unexposed groups Rongelap/Utirik Comparison Ovary Hepatoma (7) Cervix (7) Leukemia, acute Uterus (?) Cervix (7) Leukemia, acute Breast Stomach Lymphoma(?) Hepatoma Lung toid following radiation Breast Colon (7) *r, the thyroid-absorbed Central nervous system Central nervous system Lung ure 5 is that the time for (7) = Diagnosis not confirmed ‘ies directly with age at The small number of the exposed Marshallese, the smaller number of cancer deaths, and the naturally occurring fluctuations in cancer incidence will makestatistical detection of any excess ipply an epidemiologic Marshall Islands medical cancer mortality impossible in this population. Five of 26 deaths among the 86 persons in the exposed Rongelap population have been atolls where the exposed recorded as due to cancer, If these diagnoses are correct, then 19% of total mortality over 36 years erbal accounts of health has been due to cancer. In comparison, cancer accounts for 22% of.total mortality in the U.S. In death certificates at the the unexposed Marshallese group examined by the medical program, eight of 63 known deaths vailable information on (13%) may have been due to malignant disease. The types of lethal cancers which have been areas where health care diagnosedare given in Table 7. [t is pertinent that the most frequently lethal cancers in the U.S. are lung, breast, colon and leukemia/lymphoma. The frequency of different cancers induced by whole- ncdan increase in cancer 285 2012505