A totally 'rad' week: Summary of the 2019 NCI radiation epidemiology and dosimetry course

Abstract

On the first day of the course, instructors covered the fundamental principles of radiation epidemiology (Dr Martha Linet, NCI), physics and dosimetry (Dr Matthew Mille, NCI), and risk modelling for radiation studies (Dr Ethel Gilbert, retired NCI). This was followed by an introductory tutorial about the Epicure software which is widely used for modelling radiation health effects (Dr Dale Preston, Hirosoft International). Day two of the course began with a series of lectures designed to provide participants with a broad view of the current understanding of cancer (Dr Sara Schonfeld, NCI) and non-cancer risks (Dr Anssi Auvinen, Tampere University, Finland) from exposure to ionising radiation, and introduce key concepts related to radiobiology (Dr David Brenner, Columbia University Medical Center) and exposure assessment (Dr Choonsik Lee, NCI). For the remainder of the course instructors presented the methods and key findings from major studies of medical, occupational and environmental radiation exposure (described below). These sessions included complementary pairs of talks on the epidemiology and associated dosimetry methods. The course concluded with sessions on genetic susceptibility and non-ionising radiation. The medical radiation exposure session included lectures about diagnostic and therapeutic exposures. Dr Lene Veiga (NCI) discussed trends in the use of computed tomography (CT) and other medical diagnostic radiation exposures and evidence for cancer risk from these procedures. Dr David Borrego (NCI) then described the relevant dosimetry methods, providing examples of dosimetric approaches for CT, nuclear medicine, and fluoroscopy. The course then moved into a series of talks about radiotherapy exposure beginning with Dr Flora van Leeuwen (Netherlands Cancer Institute), who gave an overview of second cancer risks following conventional radiotherapy. This was followed by Dr Carolyn Taylor's (University of Oxford, UK) lecture on cardiac effects of radiotherapy and a presentation on the dosimetry for epidemiologic studies of conventional radiotherapy (Dr Rebecca Howell, MD Anderson Cancer Center). The session concluded with an overview of emerging radiotherapy techniques, such as proton therapy, with lectures describing the patterns of use and studies designed to assess health risks from these exposures (Dr Amy Berrington de González, NCI) and techniques for estimating dose from protons and other emerging radiotherapies (Dr Yeon Soo Yeom, NCI). The occupational radiation exposure session started with the epidemiologic studies of cancer and non-cancer risk (Dr Cari Kitahara, NCI) and methods for dose reconstruction (Dr Daphnée Villoing, NCI) among the population of medical workers exposed to radiation. Dr David Richardson (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) discussed historic and contemporary nuclear worker studies with Dr Robert Daniels (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) presenting issues related to the dosimetry for these studies. The occupational session concluded with an overview of the potential for cancer and non-cancer radiation-related risks to space workers by Dr Mark Little (NCI). The final day of the course opened with a presentation by Dr Maureen Hatch (retired NCI) on the physical and mental health effects on populations exposed to radiation from nuclear reactor accidents. This was followed by a presentation on the methods for dose reconstruction when calculating environmental radiation exposures by Dr Vladimir Drozdovitch (NCI). Dr Dale Preston (Hirosoft International) presented a historical overview and summary of recent findings of the Atomic bomb survivor studies. The environmental session concluded with an overview of the dosimetry and epidemiology studies of cancer risks from radon and other sources of natural background radiation (Dr Gerry Kendall, University of Oxford, UK). Dr Meredith Yeager (NCI) opened the session on susceptibility to radiation health effects with a presentation of genetic and genomic laboratory tools and approaches. Following this overview of study designs and laboratory methods, Dr Lindsay Morton (NCI) discussed current and ongoing research on the genetics of radiation-related cancer, and then Dr Catharine West (University of Manchester, UK) gave a complementary talk about genetics of radiation-related non-cancer diseases. The course concluded with two presentations about the health effects of non-ionising radiation. Dr Elizabeth Cahoon (NCI) presented an overview on solar ultraviolet radiation dosimetry and epidemiology. This was followed by a presentation on studies of the association between cell phone use and cancer and non-cancer risks (Dr Anssi Auvinen, Tampere University, Finland). In addition to formal presentations, the course organisers sought opportunities to encourage small group discussion and to facilitate networking. This included breakout lunch sessions during which participants and instructors discussed research needs and opportunities related to the different sources (medical, occupational and environmental) of radiation as well as social gatherings in the evenings at local restaurants. A rad time was had by all!.