ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA, PROSTATE AND SKIN CANCER IN ACUTE RADIATION SYNDROME SURVIVOR AFTER THE 1986 CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR ACCIDENT: CASE REPORT

Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2018 Dec 1;182(1):85-89. doi: 10.1093/rpd/ncy143.

Abstract

The development of hemoblastosis is often associated with the influence of various genotoxic unfavorable factors, in particular, with the effect of ionizing radiation. This article presents a case report of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in a patient who was involved in the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and suffered an acute radiation syndrome of degree II severity. Based on clinical and cytogenetic dosimetry, the average absorbed radiation dose to the whole body was estimated to be 4.3 Gy. During long-term clinical follow-up (27 years), moderate transient instability of hematological parameters was observed: lymphocytosis, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, which was associated with chronic viral hepatitis C. Further cytogenetic investigations demonstrated a very high frequency of translocations, up to 50 times background values, that persisted over 3 decades. In 2014, the patient was diagnosed and operated on for prostate cancer and received a course of radiotherapy (total fractionated local dose of 35 Gy) in May 2015. From December 2015 through April 2016, the patient experienced general weakness and developed progressive cytopenia. A diagnosis of AML, resulting from a myelodysplastic syndrome, was confirmed by abnormal complex clones detected in 38% of metaphases by the mFISH-method, along with other chromosomal rearrangements. The patient underwent several chemotherapy treatments for AML but eventually died of bilateral pneumonia in March 2017.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Acute Radiation Syndrome / etiology*
  • Acute Radiation Syndrome / pathology
  • Aged
  • Chernobyl Nuclear Accident*
  • Chromosome Aberrations
  • Cytogenetic Analysis
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / etiology*
  • Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / pathology
  • Lymphocytes / radiation effects
  • Male
  • Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced / etiology*
  • Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced / pathology
  • Occupational Exposure / analysis
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / etiology*
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / pathology
  • Radiation Dosage
  • Radioactive Hazard Release
  • Risk Factors
  • Skin Neoplasms / etiology*
  • Skin Neoplasms / pathology
  • Survivors
  • Whole-Body Irradiation / adverse effects*