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APPENDIX
Minimum latent period of specific cancer types

The models developed by the BEIR VII committee
to estimate ERR and EARforsolid cancers and leukemia
do not explicitly account for effects of the time delay
between exposure to ionizing radiation and the earliest
diagnosis of a radiation-induced cancer. Thus, for calculations of lifetime risk, the risk models need to be

modified by a function that is assumed to represent the
effect of a minimum latent period on reducing risk at
early times since exposure.

parameter S is set so that the latent period adjustment
in equation (A1) attains values of approximately 0.01
and 0.99 at T = 4 and 11 y, respectively. Thus, risk is
assumed to be very small (close to zero) at T < 4 y and
to attain its full value at T > 11 y. This adjustment, to
represent the effect of the minimum latent period on
reducing ERR for mostsolid cancers, is given by the
solid curve in Fig. Al.

In their calculations of lifetime risk, the BEIR VII

committee assumedthat the risk is equal to zero at times
since exposure less than 5 y for solid cancers and less
than 2 y for leukemia. No uncertainty was associated
with this threshold function.
In this study, to avoid an abruptincrease in risk from
zero at times since exposure less than a minimum latency
period to their maximum values at times when the
minimum latent period has been exceeded, the effect of

latency was represented by a sigmoid (‘S-shaped’)
function
Fratency(Z) =

(Tp)?
lt+e
os

(A 1 )

where is the time since exposurein years, pz 1s the value
of T correspondingto the inflection point where Fyarency =

0.5, and S is a shape parameter that defines the steepness
of the function as it increases from values near zero to
values near the maximum of 1.0.
For stomach, colon, and all solid cancers as a

group, j2 is assumed to be 7.5 y and the shape

1.0
|

0.8—

/
/

,
/

3
|
Z 08
|

a4

-

/

Per

cen

|

0.2.
0.0

!
I

a A
e

/

L

0

4

~

til

es

=

~~ 8th and 95t
h

|

Time since exposure(y)

:

Fig. Al. Sigmoid (S-shaped) function representing the multiplicative adjustment factor (and its uncertainty) applied to the risk of
stomach cancer, colon cancer and all solid .
cancers (less thyroid
:
and non-melanoma) as a group, due to the effect of minimum
:
latency period at early times since exposure.

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