A Monte Carlo t Test to Evaluate Mesothelioma and Radiation in the US Transuranium and Uranium Registries.

A cluster of nine mesothelioma cases was observed among 341 registrants' deaths in the US Transuranium and Uranium Registries. Descriptive analysis showed that mesothelioma cases had the highest average cumulative external radiation dose compared with lung cancer, other cancer, and noncancer deaths. Further analysis indicated that the mesothelioma cluster was very different demographically from lung cancer, other cancer, and noncancer deaths. Therefore, an internally matched case-control approach was applied to evaluate the differences in an average cumulative external radiation dose between mesothelioma deaths and other causes of death. A Monte Carlo t test was used to examine the statistical significance of the differences. The results showed that there were no significant statistical differences in an average cumulative external radiation dose between mesothelioma and lung cancer, other cancers, or noncancers for the internally matched cases and controls.