Depleted Uranium and Cancer in Danish Balkan Veterans Deployed 1992-2001.
From: Danish Cancer Society, Cancer Prevention and Documentation, Strandboulevarden 49, DK 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark. hans@cancer.dk
European journal of cancer (Oxford, England : 1990)
- Publish Date: Sep 2006
- ISSN: 0959-8049
- Volume: 42
- Issue: 14
- Pages: 2355-8
- Medium: Print
- Language: English
- Citation (JAMA): Storm Hans H, Jørgensen Hans Ole, Kejs Anne Mette T, et al. Depleted Uranium and Cancer in Danish Balkan Veterans Deployed 1992-2001.. Eur. J. Cancer Sep 2006;42:2355-8
Abstract
In a population based retrospective cohort study we studied cancer risk in Danish soldiers deployed to the war in the Balkans. In particular, leukaemia, earlier linked to ammunition enforced with depleted uranium (DU) in other deployed soldiers, was a concern. Military personnel, 13,552 men and 460 women, without known cancer at first deployment to the Balkans, January 1, 1992 to December 31, 2001 were followed through December 2002. We found 96cases of cancer, 84 among men (standardised incidence ratio (SIR) 0.9) and 12 among women (SIR 1.7). Only four male bone cancers (SIR 6.0), with three during the first year of follow-up, exceeded expectations. Earlier reports on increased risk of leukaemia and testis cancer among deployed military personnel to the Balkans are not corroborated by our study. Quick and open communication about potential risks, a health check, a telephone counselling line and careful monitoring, and diminished anxiety all helped contain the ‘Balkan syndrome’ in Denmark.
Mesh Headings (Keywords): Adult, Cohort Studies, Denmark, Female, Humans, Male, Military Personnel, Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced, Retrospective Studies, Risk Factors, Uranium, Veterans, War
Check for Full Text / PubMed Unique Identifier (PMID): 16857358
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