Epidemiological studies in human radiobiology.

A meeting on the contribution of epidemiological studies to the better understanding of the effects of radiation on human health was held in Washington, D.C., from 13 to 17 December 1965. This meeting was organized and sponsored by the World Health Organization, with the co-operation of the Division of Radiological Health, Public Health Service, United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.The main emphasis of the meeting was on obtaining representative views on the epidemiological studies now in progress and on the possibilities for further studies, but past work was also briefly reviewed under such headings as leukaemia, lung and other tumours, congenital malformations and cytogenetic effects. In addition, information was presented on current concepts of the mechanism of carcinogenesis and life-shortening derived from experimental and theoretical work. Against this background an attempt was made to identify the most essential needs for epidemiological data at present and to consider how such data might be obtained.The text presented below was prepared by Professor L. F. Lamerton of the Department of Biophysics, Institute of Cancer Research (Surrey Branch), Sutton, Surrey, England, and Professor B. MacMahon of the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard University School of Public Health, Boston, Mass., USA. It is a précis of some of the views expressed and of the information and the suggestions made.