Table of Contents
From the Editors ......................................................................................................................................... 1
From the Directors
Messages from the Newly Appointed Chairman and Vice Chairman ................................................... 2
Farewell Messages................................................................................................................................. 3
RERF News
Fifth Board of Councilors Meeting Held in U.S. Capital, Washington, D.C. ....................................... 5
Local Liaison Councils Meet in Nagasaki and Hiroshima .................................................................... 6Open House 2015 Held at Hiroshima and Nagasaki RERF .................................................................. 7
Regional Television Crew Revisits RERF to Film Additional Educational
Program about Radiation ................................................................................................................... 8
Marking of 70th Year Since A-bombings Draws Considerable Media Attention ................................. 8
Staff of U.S. Congressional Study Group on Japan Visit Hiroshima RERF ....................................... 10
RERF Welcomes Japan Studies Association Delegation to Hiroshima Laboratory ............................ 11
Staff News ........................................................................................................................................... 12
Receiving the Journal of Radiation Research Award at ICRR 2015, by Ritsu Sakata ........................ 13
Special Report
RERF’s “BioStore”—Ticket to the Future, by Yoshiaki Kodama and Ayako Ishibe .......................... 14
Conference and Workshop Reports
Fifth Meeting of the Scientific and Ethics Committee for Offspring Study, by Waka Ohishi ............ 16
Press Explanatory Session for “Risk of Death among Children of Atomic Bomb Survivors
after 62 years of Follow-up: A Cohort Study” ................................................................................ 18
Sixth Epidemiological Training Workshop for Biologists, by Ritsu Sakata ....................................... 19
Science Articles
Risk of Death among Children of Atomic Bomb Survivors after 62 Years of Follow-up:
A Cohort Study, by Eric J. Grant ..................................................................................................... 21
Radiation Effects on Cognitive Function among Atomic Bomb Survivors Exposed at orafter Adolescence, by Michiko Yamada .......................................................................................... 23
Long-Term Effects of the Rain Exposure Shortly after the Atomic Bombings in
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, by Ritsu Sakata ...................................................................................... 24
Prognostic significance of premature ventricular contractions without obvious heartdiseases determined by standard 12-lead electrocardiography considering
their morphology, by Daisuke Haruta ............................................................................................. 26
Human Interest Notes
Bioinformatics Sabbatical in Hawaii, by John B. Cologne ................................................................. 27
My Starting Point, by Kyoji Furukawa ............................................................................................... 29
Facts and Figures
RERF Epidemiological Study of Health Effects in Fukushima Emergency Workers ......................... 31
Research Protocols and Publications
Research Protocols Approved in May–October 2015 ......................................................................... 33
Recent Publications ............................................................................................................................. 34
Cover photographs:[LEFT] Nagasaki RERF Open House; see page 7[CENTER] RERF Councilors attend Fifth Board of Councilors meeting in Washington, D.C. (at Albert
Einstein Memorial in that city); see page 5[RIGHT] Biosample Center staff members undergo training for new biosample repository BioStore II;
see page 14

update 1

From the Editors

From the Editors
Welcome to the Winter edition of Update for2015. This has been an unseasonably warm andrainy autumn in Hiroshima, remaining mild enoughto walk around in shirtsleeves during the day,into the week of Labor Thanksgiving (Japan) andThanksgiving (U.S.).
Hiroshima in its downtown has just finishedhosting the festival celebrating Ebisu, a deity thatsymbolizes business prosperity for merchants
and people in all occupations, and now the everexpanding holiday light display along Peace Boulevard has been activated. The display has burgeoned
in recent years with the advent of LED lighting,and now stretches from Rijo-dori (the streetcar
street near the NHK building) on the west all theway to Ekimae-dori (the street near the shopping
center Fuji Grand) on the east.
RERF now has a large temporary office buildingin the middle of the quadrangle where the tennis
court normally sits, due to seismic reinforcement
construction underway in the newer “non-Quonsethut” buildings. In addition, the new robotic freezer
is in operation, with its detailed story the subject ofan article in this issue.
As mentioned in the last issue, 2015 is a yearof major milestones, being the 70th year since theatomic bombings and the 40th since the formationof RERF. We have recently welcomed two new
directors at RERF, and said farewell to two others,
which is also a topic touched on in this issue. In
August again this year, RERF held its two OpenHouse events, in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki—
see the article in this issue for a report on thisannual event as well. We have the usual selectionof scientific reports, along with three reports on
conferences and workshops, and a number of news
items on meetings and events related to institutional governance as well as on media relations
during the course of the year.
We hope you enjoy this issue!
November 26, 2015

Harry M. Cullings
Editor-in-Chief
Technical Editors
Jeffrey L. Hart
Setsumi Harachi
Tomoe MatsumotoThis newsletter is published twice a year by the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF;
formerly the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission), established in April 1975 as a private, nonprofit Japanese foundation. It is supported by the government of Japan through its Ministry of
Health, Labour and Welfare and by the United States through its Department of Energy (DOE), inpart by DOE contract DE-HS0000031 with the National Academy of Sciences. RERF became apublic interest incorporated foundation on April 1, 2012.
RERF conducts research and studies—for peaceful purposes—on medical effects of radiation
and associated diseases in humans, with a view to contributing to maintenance of the health andwelfare of the atomic-bomb survivors and to enhancement of the health of all humankind.
Editor-in-Chief: Harry M. Cullings, Chief, Department of Statistics
Technical Editors: Jeffrey L. Hart, Chief, Setsumi Harachi, Tomoe Matsumoto, Public Relations& Publications Office
Editorial Policy
Contributions to RERF Update receive editorial review only and do not receive scientific peer
review. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect
RERF policies or positions.
Contact: Mailing address: RERF Public Relations & Publications Office, 5-2 Hijiyama Park,
Minami-ku, Hiroshima 732-0815 Japan
Telephone: 81-82-261-3131; Facsimile: 81-82-263-7279
Internet: http://www.rerf.jp/

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RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 2

From the Directors

Messages from the Newly Appointed Chairman and Vice Chairman
Ohtsura Niwa, Chairman
Having assumed the role of Chairman of the
Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF), I
would like to discuss in general terms my vision of
RERF’s future direction.
RERF has studied the health of atomic bomb
survivors and their children for more than 60 years,
ever since the days of the Atomic Bomb Casualty
Commission (ABCC), RERF’s predecessor organization. While the studies conducted to date by
ABCC-RERF have not detected any genetic effects
among the children of A-bomb survivors, they
have shown that the frequencies of cancer and noncancer diseases increase with increased radiationdose in the directly exposed A-bomb survivors. The
findings of our studies have been given high marksby the United Nations Scientific Committee on the
Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), and areused by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) as the basis for establishing its radiation protection standards.
RERF’s studies of A-bomb survivors are unrivaled anywhere in the world and follow specificcohorts over nearly the entire course of the study
participants’ lifetimes. This has been made possible only with the cooperation of A-bomb survivors.
RERF’s studies have generated numerous clinicaland epidemiological findings. RERF recently initiated the Epidemiological Study of Health Effects inFukushima Emergency Workers, the first application of RERF’s accumulated experience to a population other than A-bomb survivors. RERF willfurther utilize our scientific background in various
ways in the 21st century, a time when use of radiation is on the rise.
RERF’s clinical and epidemiological studies

New Chairman Ohtsura Niwa

have clearly demonstrated radiation risks, but theunderlying mechanisms remain unclear. RERF
would do well to work to elucidate such mechanisms, possibly mitigating radiation risks in theprocess, and to that end, researchers in epidemiology and the basic sciences must work together.
Although interdisciplinary collaboration between
these two research areas in Europe and the UnitedStates has yielded few major achievements, RERF
is committed to helping our epidemiology andbasic science researchers collaborate toward fulfilling our responsibilities to A-bomb survivors.
RERF’s vast supply of biosamples received
from A-bomb survivors and their children must be
analyzed to better identify radiation health effects
and shed light on their mechanisms. For this purpose, RERF will assemble the world’s foremost
expertise and technology in a form that is accessible to the global community.
As new Chairman of RERF, I am determined
to work to develop the direction I have outlined
here in my message, and toward that end, I ask foreveryone’s support.

Robert L. Ullrich, Vice Chairman and Executive Director
As Vice Chairman and Executive Director at theRadiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF),
I would like to extend my greetings to all of you.
I first arrived at RERF in November of 2013 as
Associate Chief of Research. I assumed the position of Vice Chairman and Executive Director in
June of 2015.
This is an exciting time to be at RERF.
Researchers from all departments are working
together as never before with the goal of answering key questions about radiation effects, as wellas genetic effects and non-cancer diseases, andunraveling the fundamental mechanisms involvedin the onset of cancers. RERF has a wealth of
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unique resources that allows us to accomplish thisgoal, thanks to the generosity of the atomic bomb
survivors who have participated in our studies overmany years. These resources enable us to conductcutting-edge research using approaches not possible anywhere else in the world.
RERF has a long and distinguished history.
I have been aware of RERF’s research for theentirety of my career. Not only did I have the desire
to participate in RERF’s research when I made thedecision to come to Japan; I also felt it importantthat I participate as an American in efforts to discover radiation effects from the atomic bombingsof Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. I thought, andRERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 3

From the Directors
hoped, my own expertise could help lead the institute to continued growth and development of ourresearch efforts into learning all we can about radiation health effects in the hibakusha population.
Our continuing and expanded studies conductedby the RERF Department of Epidemiology are
considered the gold standard worldwide for understanding potential risks associated with radiation
exposure. The Department of Statistics has beenat the forefront in the development of new statistical approaches for the analysis of the vast data
coming from RERF studies. Our Department ofClinical Studies monitors the health of hibakusha
and their children in a supportive caring environment and at the same time provides unique insights
into the study of radiation-associated diseases.
These epidemiological and clinical studies provide
the foundation for the future of RERF as it delves
deeper into mechanisms and predictive markers
of disease development based on collaborations
among epidemiology and clinical sciences, aswell as our basic scientists in our newly formed
Department of Molecular Biosciences (a result ofa merger of the Department of Genetics and theDepartment of Radiobiology/Molecular Epidemiology). The Department of Information Technology undergirds all the research we do through its
careful husbandry of information we receive fromhibakusha and management of all our databases.

New Vice Chairman Robert Ullrich

Our relatively new Biosample Center houses a
new robotic freezer unit that will provide 20 more
years of storage space for our precious biosamples(please refer to pages 14–15 for a detailed description of the new system).
We will be expanding our studies and increasing
our abilities to conduct this work through active
recruitment of first-class scientists worldwide
and application of state-of-the-art scientific toolsthat make it possible to understand the processes
involved in disease development as never before.
As I said at the top of my greetings, this is an
exciting time to work at RERF. I am delighted andgrateful to be a part of this new start, which wasmade possible by our globally renowned achievements from the past.

Farewell Messages
Toshiteru Okubo, Senior Consulting Scientist
I retired as Chairman of the Radiation Effects
Research Foundation (RERF) at the close of theregular meeting of the Board of Councilors inWashington, D.C., in June 2015. My farewell message here is a reflection of my gratitude for everyone’s support through my tenure in that position
over the course of 10 years and 3 months.
Since I was initially offered one four-year termof office (I was first hesitant to serve more thanthat), my tenure continued longer than expected.
Before assuming the position of RERF Chairman,
I worked for 10 years as Occupational HealthTraining Center Director, Vice President, andthen President at the University of Occupational
and Environmental Health, located in the city of
Kitakyushu, Fukuoka prefecture. Based on my
managerial experience at the university, I immediately realized that RERF was not operated in accordance with many of its established regulations. I
therefore began my work by revising and eliminating incongruous regulations to improve operations
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Former Chairman Toshiteru Okubo

and make them consistent with our regulations to
the extent possible.
Ongoing personnel reductions since the transition from the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission(ABCC) to RERF have left the foundation withan older workforce and reduced organizational
viability. For us to fall behind on scientific andtechnological progress, however, would have madeRERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 4

From the Directors
it difficult to maintain our high research standards.
We therefore had to improve at the very least theexisting systems used by our research scientists, aswell as to introduce new ones.
Looking back, I realize how many new proposals I made in response to these needs. I began,for instance, developing future plans for RERF asinternal guidelines. The many proactive opinions
proposed for the future plans helped this evolve
into a groundbreaking project. I also worked onother major projects to shore up RERF’s future,including creation of the Biosample Center toeffectively utilize RERF’s precious biosamples col-lected from A-bomb survivors, and introduction ofa large robotic biorepository with the capacity tostore our growing collection of biosamples.
The past 10 years went by very quickly as I
addressed these and other matters to keep RERF
viable. But there is one large project that remains
uncompleted, namely our epidemiological studyof emergency workers who engaged in clean-up
work following the Fukushima nuclear power plant
accident. This study started last year and will likely
become a major RERF research project at somepoint in the future. I thus intend to continue working at RERF until this project gets on track.

Roy E. Shore, Former Vice Chairman and Executive Director
As an epidemiologist, I came to the Radiation
Effects Research Foundation (RERF) in 2006
attracted by its epidemiological radiation studies that form the primary basis for radiation-risk
assessment. My goal was to play a role in stimulating and shaping the research program. While that
did occur in the decade that followed, the researchers of course deserve primary credit for the changes
that came about due to their ideas, hard work, andcooperation.
The new developments during that decade
have been gratifying—the following represent a
few highlights of departmental research advances:
The Department of Genetics transitioned to much
more comprehensive, whole-genome studies ofradiation-induced heritable genetic effects using
high-density microarrays and genomic sequencing. The Department of Radiobiology/Molecular
Epidemiology initiated a research program studying radiation effects on immunosenescence (theaging of the human immune system) and its health
implications, with collaboration by some of theleading immunologic investigators from Japan andthe U.S. The Department of Clinical Studies is carrying out a multifaceted program of prediagnostic
assessments for cardiovascular disease in relation
to radiation based on biomarkers and physiological markers. That department also began a uniqueprogram to study radiation and late-life neurocognitive deficits among those exposed prenatally or inearly childhood. The Department of Epidemiology
published a landmark paper on the link of radiation
to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease mortality, whose results stimulated many other studies
on the subject worldwide. Their work on radiationand cancer mortality in the Life Span Study ofA-bomb survivors also has received considerable
international attention. Updates that are nearing
completion on cancer incidence among A-bomb
survivors and mortality among the F1 offspringof the survivors will be influential as well. The
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Former Vice Chairman Roy Shore

department found no evidence that fallout (“blackrain”) exposures had significant health impacts orbiased the radiation risk estimates. The Departmentof Statistics has conducted dosimetry research,such as implementing much improved estimates ofdose attenuation by terrain shielding and publishing papers on the relative biological effectiveness(RBE) of neutrons and an improved estimation
method for dose uncertainties. Statistical developments include a potentially important new semiparametric method to estimate low-dose effects
and increased integration of the Department into
research in all RERF departments.
All in all, the past decade has been a period ofscientific growth and new developments in which
I was privileged to play a role. I believe the next
decade at RERF will build on those scientificadvances and produce new insights on radiation
effects and their biological bases that will be significant for radiation protection and risk assessment.
On a personal note, many scientists and staff at
RERF were a great pleasure to work with. Their
helpfulness, kindness, and friendship will long be
remembered. I especially enjoyed helping to mentor younger scientists and seeing their scientific initiatives and maturation. Working at RERF in Japan
was an unforgettable experience for me.

RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 5

RERF News

Fifth Board of Councilors Meeting Held in U.S. Capital, Washington, D.C.
The fifth meeting of the Radiation Effects
Research Foundation (RERF) Board of Councilors(BOC) took place on June 18–19 (June 18–20,
Japan time) at the National Academy of Sciences(NAS) in Washington, D.C. The meeting wasattended by seven councilors, as well as RERF
directors and auditors. Representatives of the U.S.
and Japanese governments and NAS also attended
as observers. Executive Councilor Hiroo Dohy
served as the moderator. In their remarks at the
beginning of the meeting, the government representatives stated that RERF’s research findings
serve as the basis for radiation protection standards
worldwide as well as for atomic bomb survivors’
relief policies in Japan, and have thus gained thetrust of the international community. They also
expressed their appreciation to atomic bomb survivors for their dedicated cooperation in the studies.
The meeting’s major agenda items and discussions are summarized below: the FY2014 activities, settlement of accounts, and audit results werereported and approved as proposed. Regarding
the FY2015 activity plans, as in the previous year,
reports were made on research projects related tothe health of A-bomb survivors and their children;
research to review individual radiation doses andelucidate radiation’s effects on risk estimates; projects to release research results to the public and tocollaborate with other scientific organizations; training programs for Japanese and overseas specialists;public information programs; activities necessary
to carry out these projects; and budget estimates
for all activities. A description of FY2014 activities
and FY2015 activity plans for the EpidemiologicalStudy of Health Effects in Fukushima Emergency

Scene inside fifth Board of Councilors meeting

Workers, initiated in FY2014, was also presented.
Scientific Advisor Anatoly Dritschilo reported on
the 42nd Scientific Advisory Committee’s recommendations made at the meeting held earlier in theyear at the Hiroshima Laboratory March 2–4, 2015,
which included a focused review of the activitiesof the Departments of Genetics and Radiobiology/
Molecular Epidemiology. General recommendations included the committee’s hope for long-term
results from the merger of the basic research departments, advice to RERF to explore the possibility ofgaining access to advanced technology through collaboration with external researchers, and emphasisthat RERF forge collaborative relationships withbioinformatics experts outside of RERF.
Next, two councilors, three directors, two scientific advisors, and two local advisors wereappointed. Dr. Ohtsura Niwa, Specially Appointed
Professor at Fukushima Medical University, and
Dr. Robert L. Ullrich, RERF Associate Chief ofResearch, who were appointed as directors by decision of the BOC, were designated as Chairman

Participants of RERF fifth Board of Councilors meeting
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RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 6

RERF News(representative director) and Vice Chairman (Chiefof Research), respectively, at an ad hoc Board of
Directors meeting convened after the BOC meeting.
Finally, it was decided that next year’s BOC

meeting would be held at the RERF Hiroshima
Laboratory June 16–17, 2016. On June 15, an
informal meeting of councilors will take placeprior to the BOC meeting, as was the case this year.

Local Liaison Councils Meet in Nagasaki and Hiroshima
Meetings of the Local Liaison Council (LLC),
composed of local advisors, took place in Nagasaki
on September 9, 2015, and two days later in
Hiroshima on September 11, 2015. The Nagasaki
LLC held its 24th meeting, and the Hiroshima LLC
marked its 21st meeting.
The Nagasaki LLC meeting, attended by 12 of
the 20 Council members, was opened by the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF)’s Chiefof Secretariat Eiji Akimoto, who introduced the
new Council members. After greetings from RERF
Chairman Ohtsura Niwa, the proceedings got
underway, with Nagasaki LLC Chairman Shigeru
Katamine (President of Nagasaki University) presiding over the meeting.
Dr. Niwa first reported on the current status of
RERF, followed by Vice Chairman and Executive Director Robert L. Ullrich, who spoke about
recent progress in research. Acting Chief of the
Department of Nagasaki Clinical Studies Ayumi
Hida then reported on the Clinical Study of the
F1 Offspring of A-bomb Survivors. Vice Director of the Nagasaki Biosample Center Kunio
Yamaguchi described advances at the Biosample
Center, followed by a report from the Department
Chief of Radiobiology/Molecular Epidemiology
Yoichiro Kusunoki on progress in the collaborative
study with the U.S. National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Chief Scientist
Kazunori Kodama then spoke about the epidemiological study of health effects in Fukushima emergency workers, followed by a report from Executive Director Takanobu Teramoto, who explained
RERF’s public relations activities.
At the Hiroshima LLC meeting, 13 of the 15

members attended, including three proxies. The
meeting was chaired by Hiroshima LLC Chairman
Mitsuo Ochi (President of Hiroshima University).
As at the Nagasaki meeting, reports were presented
by Dr. Niwa on RERF’s present status; Dr. Ullrich
on recent research; Chief of the Department of Hiroshima Clinical Studies Waka Ohishi on the ClinicalStudy of the F1 Offspring of A-bomb Survivors; andDirector of the Biosample Center Yoshiaki Kodama
on progress at the Biosample Center.
The account of the Clinical Study of the F1 Offspring of A-bomb Survivors indicated that during
the second four-year cycle, about 10,000 participants underwent health examinations, nearly meeting the 80% target for participation. The report also
explained that collected examination data will beaggregated to analyze and evaluate the prevalenceand occurrence of diseases among children of
A-bomb survivors.
Views were actively exchanged about RERF’s
data and study results at both meetings, and wewere able to hear valuable opinions from the local
communities. At the Hiroshima LLC meeting,a participant suggested establishing a system toallow RERF to centrally archive biosamples ofA-bomb survivors that are currently stored by medical institutions in Hiroshima City. There was alsoa request for early relocation of Hiroshima RERF.
The objective of these Councils is to compile ideas from local communities and see themreflected in RERF’s operations. We take the opinions and requests presented during these meetings
seriously, review them fully, and utilize them inplanning RERF’s future operations.

Local Liaison Council meeting held at Nagasaki RERF

Local Liaison Council meeting held at Hiroshima RERF

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RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 7

RERF News

Open House 2015 Held at Hiroshima and Nagasaki RERF
The Radiation Effects Research Foundation(RERF) Hiroshima and Nagasaki Laboratories held
their 21st and 19th Open House events on August
5–6 and August 8–9, 2015, respectively, under thetheme “Learning about RERF 70 years after theatomic bombings.”
At Hiroshima RERF, in addition to presentations of the newest results from RERF research,which continues thanks to the understanding andcooperation of A-bomb survivors and numerous
others, a special exhibit titled “Considering thehealth effects of low-dose radiation exposure basedon atomic bomb radiation studies” and a feature
exhibit based on the theme “History of the Radiation Effects Research Foundation over the courseof 70 years since the A-bombings” were displayed.
At the “Science Corner,” several ‘hands-on’ events
such as a liquid-nitrogen show and a presentationof vegetable DNA extraction were held. Also set up
were a “Children’s Hospital,” at which the many
young people who attended the Open House could
try their hand at simulated medical work, and aquiz/stamp rally, which allowed people to engage
in the contest while strolling around the facilities.
On August 5, the first day of the event, Dr. Kyoji
Furukawa, Associate Senior Scientist, Departmentof Statistics, gave a lecture titled “Statistics could
be fun—From radiation risk to the likelihood of the
Carp winning a championship,” introducing statistics in a general sense. Using various measures, Dr.
Furukawa also talked about the chances of the local
Hiroshima Carp winning the baseball pennant thisseason, making for a fun time shared with many
guests. On August 6, the second day, Dr. Kazunori
Kodama, Chief Scientist, lectured on the “Healtheffects of A-bomb radiation—Considering what wedo and don’t know at this juncture 70 years later,”
describing RERF’s research results to this point intime as well as issues to be addressed in the future.
After the lecture, Dr. Kodama turned to English to
explain the same information to non-Japanese guests.
At Nagasaki RERF, in addition to a feature

Nagasaki RERF Open House lecture
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Participation by many children made for lively Hiroshima
Open House

Children trying their hand at the Science Corner

exhibit, information on RERF’s research andresults, and a special exhibit, Dr. Kodama lectured
on the same theme as in Hiroshima. ‘Hands-on’areas—including experiments with liquid nitrogen, observations using electron and other microscopes, and commemorative photographs taken
while wearing white lab coats—were a big hit
with children. The adult visitors seemed to be mostinterested in arteriosclerosis testing, bone mineraldensity measurements, body fat monitoring, urinalysis, and other health tests. A lasting impression of
the event was the sight of both children and adults
enjoying interaction with RERF staff.
With the weather clear during the two-day
events in the cities, a total of 1,046 people visitedthe Hiroshima Laboratory and 678 the Nagasaki
Laboratory. This year’s lively Open House featured
lots of communication between visitors and RERF
staff, and prominent throughout the facilities werefamilies with children, one of the focal points ofthis year’s events.
The Open House this year provided a good
opportunity for the public to become more familiar with RERF at this juncture 70 years after theatomic bombings.
RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 8

RERF NewsRegional Television Crew Revisits RERF to Film Additional Educational
Program about Radiation
Two episodes of the popular educational television program “Let’s see…,” hosted by comic duo
Daisuke and Hanako Miyagawa, were filmed at
the Hiroshima Laboratory of the Radiation Effects
Research Foundation (RERF) during the summer,
on June 30, 2015. The film crew returned to RERF
to record these episodes in response to requests
for more information from people watching theprevious episodes broadcast in February 2015 (formore on the previous episodes, refer to our Update
Summer 2015 edition, page 11). In the most recent
episodes, the question posed to RERF was “Whatis radiation?”
Dr. Norio Takahashi, Consultant to the RERF
Associate Chief of Research’s Office and guest
in both the first film session in February and therecent session, addressed the question by first
touching on the difference between radiation andradioactivity. He explained that the effects of radiation on the human body depend on dose (measured
in a unit called the sievert [Sv]), which is theenergy amount deposited by radiation in tissue. He
also used a dosimeter to demonstrate that a smaller
dose is received the more distant one is fromthe source of radiation and that radiation can beblocked by water or concrete and similar materials.

Hiroshima was added to the viewing area for the“Let’s see…” program in mid-October 2015, but
the latest two episodes on radioactivity were aired
earlier, on September 27 and October 4, 2015, andwere thus limited to Japan’s San-in region (on theJapan Sea side of the main island of Honshu). We
truly hope the general public was able to deepen its
understanding about radiation.

Dr. Norio Takahashi (right), Consultant, Associate Chief ofResearch Office, appears for second time with TV variety
program comic duo hosts Daisuke (left) and Hanako Miyagawa

Marking of 70th Year Since A-bombings Draws
Considerable Media Attention
The Radiation Effects Research Foundation(RERF) typically goes about its business without
expecting much in the way of media fanfare. This
year, the 70th since the atomic bombings in 1945

CBS Asia Bureau team interviews Dr. Harry Cullings, Chief,
Statistics Dept., about GIS mapping technology
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and the 40th since the founding of RERF in 1975,
the media spotlight shone more brightly on our institute in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As we reflected thismany years later on the A-bombings of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, news organizations across the globe
took up the banner, helping to share important stories of the survivors and our research.
International media in particular showed intenseinterest. In the spring, for example, Tokyo Productions, a company comprised of freelance Frenchjournalists based in Tokyo, visited Hiroshima
RERF to film a documentary for RMC Decouverte, a French broadcaster. The original one-hourprogram, which was broadcast in France on theevening of September 8, delves into examples ofWorld War II historical traces that remain in Japan
today—from naval wreckage off Okinawa’s coast
to medical records of A-bomb survivors archived
at RERF. Please check out the September 15 entry
on the timeline of our Facebook page (Radiation
RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

RERF News
Effects Research Foundation) for the video portionof the program that speaks specifically to RERF’s
A-bomb survivor records.
In June, the same Tokyo production group of
French freelance journalists in Tokyo visited RERF
to produce an August 6 program for France 24, aFrench TV channel broadcast in three languages(French, English, and Arabic) in Europe, Africa,
the Middle East, and the U.S. The link indicated below was sent to us by the team at Tokyo
production and is the English-language versionof the news program: http://www.france24.com/
en/20150806-japan-hiroshima-70-years-survivorsmedical-scrutiny-cancers-radiations.
In late July, RERF was visited by the Asia
Bureau of CBS for that organization’s story
on RERF efforts to understand radiation healtheffects in survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki
A-bombings, which took place on August 6 and 9,1945, respectively. The CBS story aired August 9
on CBS Evening News. The story should still beaccessible at: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/
the-health-effects-of-the-hiroshima-and-nagasakiatomic-bombs-70-years-later/.
In early August, Inside Science published anarticle that discussed the radiation health researchthat began at the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC), RERF’s predecessor organization,in the 1940s and continues to this day. The article
describes RERF’s research in detail, the contributions the organization has made to low-dose radiation research, and the future direction radiation
research must take to produce a more complete
picture of how radiation impacts human beings
exposed to sources besides atomic bombs. For
the full article, please check out the link indicatedbelow: https://www.insidescience.org/content/
seventy-years-later-atomic-bombs-still-influencehealth-research/3086.
By way of comparison, in fiscal 2014, there
was not one report on RERF that was broadcast byoverseas media. As outlined above, fiscal 2015 has
had considerably more impact from that perspective.
The media in Japan were also focused on RERF
at this 70th-year juncture. The annual RERF media
gathering, held this year in late-April in both
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, touched on the topic of
RERF’s new epidemiological study of emergency
workers engaged in the cleanup after the tsunamicaused accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
power plant. The study at RERF to investigate
health effects in Fukushima emergency workers aswell as research conducted elsewhere will highlight
long-term, persistent exposures of smaller amounts

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update 9

Dr. Asao Noda, Assistant Chief, Genetics Dept., interviewed
by French journalistof radiation, information that will complement
RERF’s longstanding research into the instantaneous exposures experienced by A-bomb survivors.
The theme of Fukushima, a topic of great interestin Japan and throughout the world, drew a sizeable
delegation of local and national media representatives. The session also included discussion of
RERF plans and projects scheduled for fiscal 2015.
Later in the year, in October, a press explanatory
session attended by a large contingent of print andbroadcast media representatives was held for the
recently published paper “Risk of Death among
Children of Atomic Bomb Survivors after 62 Yearsof Follow-up: A Cohort Study.” RERF invited the
media to attend with the aim of explaining resultsfrom the updated study, which found no increased
mortality in the children of A-bomb survivors(please see the Science Articles piece of the same
title for a summary explanation of the paper in thisUpdate on page 21). The health effects in this second generation represent a study area of great interest to the public and therefore the media.
Overall, it was a busy year for RERF, withjournalists from the U.S., Germany, several groups
from France, Brazil and, naturally, local andnational journalists in Japan producing reports on
the A-bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as
well as on our efforts to understand radiation healtheffects in A-bomb survivors, in this 70th year after
the bombings.
Worldwide radiation protection standards havebeen established in large part from RERF’s
research on the health effects of the bombings,
and in that and other senses, the work deservesconsiderable recognition. We are gratified that themedia paid RERF and its research so much attention in 2015; we invite them to continue in 2016
and beyond.

RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 10

RERF News

Staff of U.S. Congressional Study Group on Japan Visit
Hiroshima RERF
On the morning of Monday, May 25,
2015, senior staff of the U.S. Congressional Study Group on Japan and members of
the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, a total of
11 people, visited the Hiroshima Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF).
After then RERF Chairman Toshiteru
Okubo welcomed the group, Dr. Eric J.
Grant, Assistant Chief, Department of
Epidemiology, gave a general overview
of RERF that included a description of
the Life Span Study (LSS) cohort andfindings. Dr. Waka Ohishi, Chief, Department of Clinical Studies, then spoke on
the Adult Health Study (AHS), its sigU.S. Congressional study group takes in historical photographs exhibitednificance, and some of the findings in theat Hiroshima RERF
many years since that study’s inception.
same day. They then visited Fukushima to gather
Dr. Yoshiaki Kodama, then Director of theinformation on the area affected by the Great East
RERF Biosample Center, introduced the visitors
Japan Earthquake and by the continuing radiation
to the freezers and nitrogen tanks used for the storleak from the Fukushima Daiichi (No. 1) nuclear
age of RERF’s more than 900,000 biosamples. The
power plant. Given their itinerary, the group
group next viewed the then-empty space at which
expressed great interest in RERF’s involvement in
the Biosample Center’s robotic freezer system was
Fukushima, especially our new health survey of theto begin operations later this year. At the end ofroughly 20,000 emergency workers who labored attheir visit, the visitors passed by RERF’s photothe Fukushima nuclear power plant during the firstgraphic exhibit and looked over the historical phonine months following the accident in March 2011
tographs of well-known political figures who had(please refer to page 31 of this Update).
visited RERF in the past.
According to the Congressional Study Group on
The group had an ambitious schedule. On
Japan’s website at http://usafmc.org/internationalSunday, May 24, after arriving in Hiroshima, they
programs/congressional-study-groups/congressiovisited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
nal-study-group-on-japan/, the Study Group is an
On the morning of May 25, before arriving at
independent and non-partisan organization that
RERF, they paid a courtesy visit to Hiroshimapromotes legislative exchange between the U.S.
Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki. During their RERF
Congress and the Japanese Diet. The group wastour, the group mentioned they were scheduledconceived in 1993 and has served as an ongoingto visit the Satake Corporation, a multinational
forum for dialogue about important issues concerngrain-sorting equipment manufacturer located in
ing the U.S-Japan relationship.
Higashi-Hiroshima, before flying to Tokyo the
As the website states, “Bipartisan pairs ofcurrent members of Congress chair the Congressional Study Group on Japan in each Chamberof Congress. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) andRep. Billy Long (R-MO) serve as co-chairs in theHouse. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) lead the Study Groupin the Senate…. The Study Group’s activities aresupported in part by a generous grant from the
Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA....”The Sasakawa Peace Foundation is a private
Japanese foundation that works to strengthen
cooperation at all levels among nations in terms of
issues facing societies as well as natural and social
Dr. Eric Grant, Assistant Chief, Epidemiology Dept., speaks
crises. For more information, see the Foundation’s
to group of U.S. Congressional aides who were in Japan on
study tour
website at: https://www.spf.org/e/.
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RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 11

RERF NewsRERF Welcomes Japan Studies Association Delegation to
Hiroshima Laboratory

Dr. Eric Grant, Assistant Chief, Epidemiology Dept., lectures
Japan Studies Association delegation about RERF research

Summer was busy for the Radiation Effects
Research Foundation (RERF), given that 2015
was the 70th year since the atomic bombings ofHiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, as well as the40th anniversary of RERF’s founding. While RERF
strives to convey information from Hiroshima andNagasaki about its research by reaching out to the
public using multiple platforms, sometimes we are
fortunate to have the public visit RERF in an effort
to learn directly from us.
On the morning of July 1, RERF welcomed
a delegation from the Japan Studies Association(JSA), an organization established in 1994 thatassists its members—primarily teachers from U.S.
two- and four-year colleges and universities—toacquire first-hand knowledge about Japan andincorporate it into their curricula through workshops and study-tours. According to its website,
the association enables JSA members to engage inJapan-related curriculum development, to design
study-abroad programs, and to initiate comparative
research. The 2015 study tour to Japan was titled“Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1945–
2015” and brought the group to the two A-bombed
cities from June 28 to July 5, 2015.
During its four-day visit to Hiroshima, the groupmet with Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
representatives and A-bomb survivors and toured
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. On July 1, about
25 members from the group came to Hiroshima
RERF to learn about the scientific aspects of thebombings of the two cities. Other members of thegroup traveling to Japan signed up for an optional
tour of Hiroshima Castle, Shukkeien Garden, orother activity on that day.
At RERF, Mr. Takanobu Teramoto, Executive

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Director, led off the series of presentations withan overview of RERF and its research; next wasa showing of RERF’s introductory video. Mr.
Douglas C. Solvie, Associate Chief, Secretariat,
spoke on ABCC-RERF history and government
involvement in the organization; Dr. Eric J. Grant,
Assistant Chief, Epidemiology Department, spoke
on RERF research results, with a particular focus
on the RERF Life Span Study (LSS). After an
extensive Q&A session, Mr. Jeffrey L. Hart, Chief,
Public Relations and Publications Office, took
the group on a facility tour, touching on historicalaspects of ABCC-RERF and details about some of
RERF’s research efforts.
Some in the visitors group were science educators, including one radiation physicist, whoengaged in conversation at length with Dr. Grant
after his lecture. The diverse group included thosefrom the University of Wisconsin River Falls,
Kapi’olani Community College of the Universityof Hawaii, and Antioch College in Ohio, among
others.
During its three days in Nagasaki at the tail-end
of its Japan visit, the group visited Nagasaki Peace
Memorial Park, the Nagai Museum, Urakami
Cathedral, and Glover Garden.
Ms. Fay Beauchamp, JSA Vice President forSpecial Projects, later wrote that everyone thought
the trip to Japan was a meaningful experiencethat would affect the faculty in terms of teaching
students in many different colleges and arranging plans to return to Japan with different groups.
She closed the message with the following words:“Thank you very much for arranging the visit to
RERF. The Japan Studies Association participants
thought that was a key event, and for some it was amain reason for coming to Hiroshima.”

JSA delegation given tour of Hiroshima RERF facilities

RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 12

RERF News

Staff NewsThe Radiation Effects Research Foundation(RERF) Chairman Toshiteru Okubo and RERF
Vice Chairman Roy E. Shore resigned on June 20,
2015, when their terms expired. On the same day,Ohtsura Niwa, Specially Appointed Professor of
Fukushima Medical University, assumed the position of Chairman, and Robert L. Ullrich, RERF
Associate Chief of Research, became Vice Chairman. Together with Executive Director Takanobu
Teramoto, Dr. Niwa and Dr. Ullrich have assumed
guidance of operations at RERF. Upon resigning as
RERF Chairman, Dr. Okubo was appointed Senior
Consulting Scientist to lead the EpidemiologicalStudy of Health Effects in Fukushima Emergency
Workers, beginning July 1. Greetings from the
newly appointed Chairman and Vice Chairman andmessages from the outgoing officers are on pages
2–4.
Eiji Nakashima, Assistant Chief of the Depart-

Kismet A. Cordova, MS
On July 13, 2015, I joined RERF as a researchscientist in the Department of Statistics. My undergraduate degree in psychology with an emphasis on
research methodology and statistics was awarded
in 2011 from the University of Colorado Boulder.
From then, I spent four years as a research assistantat CU-Boulder studying psychosocial factors andcognitive impacts associated with long-term marijuana use. In May 2015, I completed my Master’s
degree in applied biostatistics and bioinformatics
from the Colorado School of Public Health.
I have always felt a great kinship and adoration for Japanese culture, ever since I visited as achild. This was amplified when I met my husband
Damien, as we bonded over a mutual love forJapanese history and aesthetics. When we marriedin 2013, we folded 1,000 cranes together as a blessing and prayer for the happiness and longevity of
our marriage. Last summer, we spent our honeymoon in Japan, traveling from Tokyo to Kagoshima
and back. When I saw the job opening at RERF, I
was anxious for the opportunity to expand my statistical consulting skills while living in Japan for an
extended period of time.
During my time at RERF, I look forward tolearning more about the history, current status, andReturn to Table of Contents

ment of Statistics, retired June 30, under the
mandatory age limit, but will continue research as
Research Scientist (adjunct specialist) in the samedepartment. Reid D. Landes, Senior Scientist in
the Department of Statistics (fixed-term researchscientist), and Seishi Kyoizumi, NIAID Project
Research Scientist in the Laboratory of Immunology, Department of Radiobiology/Molecular
Epidemiology, resigned as their terms expired onJune 30 and September 30, respectively. Jun-ichi
Asakawa, Senior Scientist (fixed-term researchscientist) in the Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics, Department of Genetics, also retired under the
mandatory age limit on June 30, but will continue
his engagement with RERF research as a consultant to the same department.
Kismet A. Cordova newly joined the Department of Statistics on July 13. She introduces herself below.

Ms. Kismet Cordova, research scientist,
Statistics Dept., in her office

future of this important organization. As a consulting statistician, I love to work on a wide variety
of projects spanning diverse topics, problems, andtypes of data. Clear communication and dissemination of information to non-statisticians is a passionof mine, and I look forward to honing this skill
even further at RERF as I begin to learn Japanese.
Ultimately, I hope to have the opportunity to workwith RERF researchers on the research topics thatare important to them, and to help bring those ideas
to life. I appreciate your support and guidance as I
learn more about RERF and living in Japan.

RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

RERF News

update 13

Receiving the Journal of Radiation Research Award at ICRR 2015
Ritsu Sakata, Associate Senior Scientist
Department of Epidemiology, Hiroshima
At the 15th International Congress of Radiation Research (ICRR), held in Kyoto, Japan, May
25–29, 2015, I was happy to receive the Journalof Radiation Research Award for my presentation
titled “Radiation risks of upper digestive cancers in
the cohort of atomic-bomb survivors.”
In my presentation, I discussed the findings of astudy on radiation effects in upper gastrointestinal
cancers (of the mouth, esophagus, and stomach) ina series of collaborative studies that the Radiation
Effects Research Foundation (RERF) conductswith the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI)
based on cancer incidence data through 2009.
In these ongoing cancer incidence studies,
non-radiation factors for cancer, such as smoking and drinking, are adjusted for using lifestyledata obtained through mail surveys and othersources. Oral and esophageal cancers are known
to be strongly associated with smoking and drinking. Although findings on an association between
smoking and drinking and stomach cancer areinconsistent, many studies have found some kindof relationship. Stomach cancer is the most common type of cancer in the RERF Life Span Study(LSS) cohort, accounting for about one-quarterof all cancers observed. This prevalence enablesdetailed analyses of dose-response relationships
and effect modifiers, making the stomach an interesting site for study.
I reported at the meeting that the study showed
upper gastrointestinal cancers to be related tosmoking and drinking but with no confounding

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Dr. Ritsu Sakata, Associate Senior Scientist, Epidemiology
Dept., displays Journal of Radiation Research Awardbetween radiation and these lifestyle factors. I also
reported that, for esophageal cancer, a model that
included the time since exposure as an effect modifier provided a better fit than a model that included
attained age and age at exposure as effect modifiers. I have since conducted more analyses and am
writing a manuscript explaining my findings.
I believe that the award reflects internationalrecognition of RERF’s epidemiological researchon radiation health effects. Credit must go to thesenior researchers who guided me, my colleagues
who advised me, and collaborative investigators at
the NCI who assisted me. I look forward to yourcontinued guidance and encouragement.

RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 14

Special Report

RERF’s “BioStore”—Ticket to the Future
Yoshiaki Kodama, Director
Ayako Ishibe, Vice Director, Biosample Center
A robotic biorepository installed in October
2015 at the Radiation Effects Research Foundation(RERF) Biosample Center in Hiroshima is about tostart full operations. Herein, we look back on what
led to the largest equipment purchase in RERF history.

Concern surfaces and grows about the futureof RERF’s biosamples
The mission of RERF is to investigate theeffects of radiation on human health. The data andsamples RERF has accumulated over more than 60
years make this possible. They are truly valuable
and unique to the world, treasures, as has alreadybeen described.
Long ago, nurses and technicians responsible
for storing biosamples in freezers started wondering what would happen if samples kept being
added at such a rapid pace.
The RERF Committee on Biological Samples and others previously reviewed some stored
samples and discussed how samples should bemanaged. But the findings of these reviews anddiscussions did not prompt any action, since thesamples were individually managed by research
departments and RERF had nothing but their own
individual freezers in which to store them. The
nurses and technicians who inspected the samples
likely understood the situation best.
Also concerned was then RERF Chairman
Toshiteru Okubo. On many occasions he explainedthat input from A-bomb survivors and society ingeneral was needed to decide when, by whom, andfor what RERF’s samples would be used.
In 2009, RERF collaborated in an international
project on age-related decline in immune function
funded by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The projectrequired Dr. Okubo to devote himself to fully
informing relevant local communities about how
the samples would be used. This called the foundation’s attention to serious consideration of the useof RERF’s biological assets.
This major project took three years of planning
RERF created its first Future Plans in 2011, collecting opinions from all RERF staff. The plansincluded many comments on biosample storage,such as: “We will run out of space for freezers in a
few years.”“We don’t have enough employees to properly
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operate the freezers.”“We should centrally manage the samples, which
are now scattered among the departments.”“Our existing emergency generators may not beable to supply enough power for the freezers.”
We wish we could say that to resolve these
problems, RERF equipped its “ships” representing
Hiroshima and Nagasaki with an “engine” called
the Biosample Center and “sailed out full steam
ahead” for the purchase of a robotic biorepository.
But it was not that simple.
Dr. Waka Ohishi, Chief of the Hiroshima Department of Clinical Studies, and Mr. Takeshi Kishi,
Senior Technician in that department, introduced
a robotic biorepository vendor to Dr. Okubo, who
was intrigued by the idea. Later, Dr. Ohishi and Dr.
Tomonori Hayashi, Assistant Chief of the Department of Radiology/Molecular Epidemiology, identified other companies’ models as candidates, andRERF personnel including Dr. Okubo and Chief
Scientist Kazunori Kodama, who was serving as the
Biosample Center Director at the time, went to seesome models in operation. After obtaining approval
from the U.S. and Japan governmental funding agencies and the Board of Councilors, RERF
secured a budget and arranged for the purchaseof a BioStore II (Brooks Automation, Inc., USA)through a public call for proposals, technical review,and bidding. This major project took RERF three
years to complete since inception. It is invigorating
to now have an operational BioStore II before us.

Determining how to minimize damage to biosamples
The comments indicated in the Future Plans document motivated Dr. Okubo to make a decision but

Workers erect framework for new robotic biorepository

RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 15

Special Reportwere just the beginning. Employees discussing thefuture of epidemiological research—RERF’s corecompetency—considered how stored samples could
be managed efficiently and removed without unnecessary damage. Dr. Okubo repeatedly raised theseas practical issues in discussions about research.
Removing dozens of samples collected, say,four, eight, or 12 years ago requires the freezers
to be opened and closed and other samples on thesame trays to be removed. Sample handlers became
concerned that this could damage the samples.
Sample damage of this type is not a concern inrobotic biorepositories because evaporators set
to minus 80 degrees centigrade are located rightabove the samples; trays are stationed in an insulated four-compartment storage space; and samples
are quickly removed and returned in a freezer complete with a dehumidification system to minimize
condensation and sample warming. In addition,
people no longer need to move cartridges weighing nearly 10 kilograms to and from deep freezers.
Other important advantages include more effective
use of space and increased energy efficiency.

Engineers who built a world of –80 C°
With preparatory work completed, the robotic
biorepository was delivered and assembled startingon June 17, 2015. As we watched the multinational
engineers from Brooks take turns assembling theequipment in groups of four or five workers, webecame increasingly convinced this was a worthwhile investment.
The engineers showed their professionalism
during construction and during a particular incident. In the morning of August 26, other workers
excavating a nearby road inadvertently severed
cable carrying electricity to RERF, shutting down
power throughout the RERF facility. The accident
happened just when the equipment had been dehumidified with an air compressor and eight evaporators were being sequentially started. A newly
installed second emergency generator, by ill for-

RERF Biosample Center staff try their hand at tray removal

tune, was not connected yet, and therefore all work
completed to that point came to nothing. Spending
no time being despondent, the engineers inspected
the damage and carried out recovery work throughout the night. Their enthusiasm seemed to say,“The BioStore is our baby!” Prompting their effort
was their understanding of the value of RERF’s
samples to the world and their pride in being
assigned this important task. The smiles on thefaces of the departing engineers, who built a worldof –80 C°, spoke volumes about how satisfied they
were to have helped protect the samples.

Biosample Center has more work to do
The Brooks BioStore II was inspected andturned over to RERF on October 5. But we stillmust determine exactly how we will use this “ticket
to the future” that RERF employees envisioned in
the Future Plans.
The robotic biorepository will help RERF conduct studies possible only with RERF samples. The
Biosample Center has more work to do as it takes
stock of the samples and addresses the remaining
tasks, which include assessing the impact of thefreezing and thawing of frozen samples on components. Viewing the magnificent BioStore robotic
freezer through the tour window reminds us of all
we have mentioned here.

RERF Biosample Center staff, along with Brooks workers, pose forphoto at initial stage of work
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RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

Conference and Workshop Reports

update 16

Fifth Meeting of the Scientific and Ethics Committee for Offspring Study
Waka Ohishi, Chief
Department of Clinical Studies, Hiroshima
The fifth meeting of the Scientific and Ethics Committee for the Clinical Study of the F1
Offspring of A-bomb Survivors was held in the
Hiroshima Radiation Effects Research Foundation(RERF) Auditorium on May 14, 2015. The purposeof the meeting was to discuss the progress of theLongitudinal Clinical Study of the F1 Offspring of
A-bomb Survivors and report on the preliminary
data of the study.
The initial Clinical Study of the F1 Offspringof A-bomb Survivors (the so-called “first cycle,”which had a cross-sectional design) was conductedduring 2002–2006 to study associations between
parental exposure and prevalence of multifactorial diseases (hypertension, hypercholesterolemia,
diabetes mellitus, angina pectoris, myocardial
infarction, and stroke) in the offspring of atomic
bomb survivors. Prevalence was analyzed for all
diseases and for each of the diseases independently.
In neither case was evidence obtained showing an
increased risk associated with parental exposure.
This study of prevalence, however, may have had aparticipation bias (by which study results become
non-representative because disproportionate participation in the study of subjects possessing certain
traits affects the outcome) in the health examinations, and the average age of the participants was
relatively young, at about 49 years. For these andother reasons, it was recommended that a longterm study be conducted. As recommended, theLongitudinal Clinical Study of the F1 Offspring of
A-bomb Survivors (the so-called “second cycle”)
was initiated on November 24, 2010, with approxi-

mately 12,000 study participants.
The meeting began with RERF Vice Chairman Roy E. Shore’s opening remarks, whichwere followed by RERF Chief Scientist Kazunori
Kodama’s introduction of the committee members. Subsequently, Committee Chairman Tadao
Shimao, Consultant, Japan Anti-Tuberculosis
Association, addressed the audience. Dr. Waka
Ohishi, Chief, Department of Clinical Studies,
reported on the progress made over the four years
since initiation of the second cycle. She noted thatduring this period about 10,000 participants underwent health examinations, nearly meeting the targeted 80% participation rate and keeping the study
moving steadily forward toward the third cycle.
Dr. Ohishi added that approximately 99% of theparticipants had consented to the storage and useof their blood and urine samples for non-genome/
gene analysis, 97% to the storage and use of thesesamples for genome/gene analysis, and 99.7% tocontinued participation in the clinical study, indications of the participants’ high level of understanding and cooperation.
Dr. Yoshimi Tatsukawa, Associate Senior Scientist, Division of Health Examinations, Departmentof Clinical Studies, next presented preliminary
calculations of participant data from the first three
years of the second cycle of the Longitudinal Clinical Study of the F1 Offspring of A-bomb Survivors.
Attendees engaged in an active question-andanswer session, moderated by Committee Vice
Chairman Hiraku Takebe, Fellow, Kinki University Atomic Energy Research Institute, about theFifth meeting of Scientific and Ethics Committee for Clinical Study of the F1 Offspring of A-bomb
Survivors held at Hiroshima RERF
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RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

Conference and Workshop Reports
prevalence and incidence of multifactorial diseases,
comparisons of lifestyles and disease prevalences
between those who participated in the second
cycle and those who did not based on information
obtained in the first cycle, and plans for futurestatistical analyses based on the results of thesecomparisons. The committee eagerly provided
valuable comments. The latest participation data
indicate that the vast majority of those eligible forthe second cycle of the study would have undergone health examinations by the end of October
2015. It was explained that the full-scale calculations include participants projected to undergo

update 17
examinations within that timeframe and that statistical plans for upcoming analyses will be further
scrutinized. Dr. Shimao wrapped up the meetingwith a summary, and Dr. Kodama provided closing
remarks, expressing his appreciation to the committee members.
We will continue to advocate the significanceof the study to obtain understanding and cooperation from as many study participants as possible.
We will also further improve our health examination program to allow earlier disease detection
and better treatment and care for the health of theparticipants.

Members of the Scientific and Ethics Committee for the Clinical Study of the F1
Offspring of A-bomb Survivors
Dr. Tadao Shimao (Chairman), Consultant, Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association
Dr. Hiraku Takebe (Vice-Chairman), Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University
Dr. Hirotsugu Ueshima, Special Contract Professor, Center for Epidemiologic Research in
Asia, Shiga University of Medical Science
Dr. Takashi Kawamoto, Professor, Division of Philosophy and Religion, College of Liberal
Arts, International Christian University
Mr. Shinsuke Kimura, Attorney, Kimura Shinsuke Law OfficeDr. Hideo Sasaki, Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Human Ecology,
Yasuda Women’s University
Dr. Steve Wing, Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health,
University of North Carolina
Dr. Kazuo Tajima, Advisor to Director of Mie University Hospital
Dr. Masao Tomonaga, Professor Emeritus, Nagasaki University
Dr. Taisei Nomura, Professor Emeritus, Osaka University
Dr. Norihiko Hayakawa, Professor Emeritus, Hiroshima University
Dr. Yoshimitsu Fukushima, Professor and Head, Department of Medical Genetics, Shinshu
University School of Medicine
Dr. Katsumi Furitsu, Assistant Professor, Department of Genetics, Hyogo College of Medicine
Dr. Eiji Maruyama, Professor, Graduate School of Law, Kobe University
RERF
Dr. Toshiteru Okubo, Chairman
Dr. Roy E. Shore, Vice Chairman
Mr. Takanobu Teramoto, Executive Director
Dr. Robert L. Ullrich, Associate Chief of Research
Dr. Kazunori Kodama, Chief Scientist
Mr. Eiji Akimoto, Chief of Secretariat
Mr. Douglas C. Solvie, Associate Chief of Secretariat
Members, Working Group for the Clinical Study of the F1 Offspring of A-bomb Survivors
Research Scientists, Department of Clinical Studies

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RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 18

Conference and Workshop Reports

Press Explanatory Session“Risk of Death among Children of Atomic Bomb Survivors after
62 years of Follow-up: A Cohort Study”
Interest among the public has always beenhigh in the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF)’s findings regarding morbidity andmortality in the children of directly exposed atomic
bomb survivors, in particular among members ofthe media.
With that in mind, on October 5, 2015, RERF
convened an explanatory session for the media
concerning a paper recently published online in
London-based The Lancet Oncology. The paper,“Risk of Death among Children of Atomic Bomb
Survivors after 62 years of Follow-up: A Cohort
Study,” reported the latest results from RERF’s
long-term study of atomic bomb radiation effects
in the offspring of atomic bomb survivors in
Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The media session was held at Hiroshima RERF
and connected to Nagasaki RERF by teleconferencing. Attending media members in both cities
totaled around 15 representatives of major news
publications and broadcasters, including local
news organizations from Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
as well as national media. Several of their reports
describing what was reported at the meeting werebroadcast and published in the following days.
Dr. Kotaro Ozasa, Chief, Department of Epidemiology, opened the session with a generalexplanation of the study’s findings and significance(please see the Science Articles piece of the same
title in this Update on page 21).
Dr. Eric J. Grant, Assistant Chief, Departmentof Epidemiology, responded to the questions following the brief description, explaining the technical details and nuances of the study as its leadauthor. Diverse questions from the media included
those regarding what level of hazard ratio represents statistical significance, as well as why genetic
effects in the offspring generation have not been
seen in humans despite such effects being apparent
in many other species.
Given intense interest expressed by the media,
the entire session went considerably longer thanusual.
The study’s 75,327 participants were born
between 1946 and 1984, being conceived after the1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
and followed up until December 31, 2009. The
study, which was the latest in a series of RERF
research into the same topic, showed no increased
mortality from cancer or non-cancer diseases withlarger parental exposure in children of atomic
bomb survivors. Thus, children of people exposedto the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
have so far had no indications of deleterious healtheffects even after 62 years.
Dr. Grant was careful to point out to the media,
however, that such epidemiological studies must becomplemented by sensitive molecular techniquesin the future to fully understand the overall effects
of preconception exposure to ionizing radiation inhuman beings.

Press explanatory session held for paper “Risk of Death among Children of Atomic Bomb
Survivors after 62 years of Follow-up: A Cohort Study”

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RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

Conference and Workshop Reports

update 19

Sixth Epidemiological Training Workshop for Biologists
Ritsu Sakata, Associate Senior Scientist
Department of Epidemiology, Hiroshima
The sixth Epidemiological Training Workshop
for Biologists, sponsored by the Council of Radiation Effects Research Organizations,* was held
August 24–25, 2015, and 49 people (six from theRadiation Effects Research Foundation [RERF])
attended. Although past workshops were held in
RERF’s Auditorium, this year’s workshop took
place in the Hiroshima RERF Laboratory’s Hijiyama Hall. Many Epidemiology Department staff
helped to move tables from the Auditorium up to
Hijiyama Hall. The heavy lifting we did served asa reminder again of how much RERF’s workforce
has aged.
On the first day of the workshop, I gave a talktitled “Epidemiology for non-specialists” about
epidemiological terminology and methods. Dr.
Kotaro Ozasa, Chief, RERF Department of Epidemiology, presented RERF research results in a
lecture titled “Recent results from the Life Span
Study (LSS).” Dr. Atsuko Sadakane, Acting Chief,
Pathology Laboratory, Associate Senior Scientist,from the same department, shared tips for reading
and understanding epidemiological papers in her
talk “Risk of childhood cancer from CT scans.”
Dr. Misa Imaizumi, Chief, Divisions of Radiology
and Clinical Laboratories, Department of ClinicalStudies, Nagasaki RERF, spoke about “Radiation
exposure and thyroid cancer,” covering the thyroid
gland and its association with radiation. Subsequent talks titled “Radiation effects on the fetus”(Dr. Nori Nakamura, Consultant, Department of
Genetics) and “Combined effects of radiation
exposure and estradiol on postmenopausal breast
cancer” (Dr. Eric J. Grant, Assistant Chief, Department of Epidemiology) attracted participants’interest as each touched on both epidemiologicaland biological findings. In the last session of thefirst day, RERF Chairman Ohtsura Niwa gave thepresentation “Summary of the ICRP tissue stem
cell report.” This report was a reason why manyof the participants, who listened intently, decided
to attend. Following this presentation, Dr. Kazuo
Yoshida, Director, Radiation Safety Research Center, Central Research Institute of Electric Power
Industry, talked about a model for integrating biology and epidemiology in his presentation titled“Simulation of dose-rate effects with stem-cellcompetition.” This presentation marked the end of
the first day of the workshop.
Almost all participants attend the reception
every year. This year’s reception began with greetings by RERF Vice Chairman Robert L. Ullrich
and Chief Scientist Kazunori Kodama. The participants shared information with each other throughout the reception.
A typhoon was forecast to pass near Hiroshimaaround noon on the second day, when the workshop was scheduled to conclude. Concerned thatthe approaching typhoon might halt westboundtrain service, some of the participants, particularly those from Kyushu, had to cut short theirvisit and leave early. However, most participants
stayed through until the end of the workshop
despite the storm. Dr. Nori Nakamura gave a talktitled “Observing mouse experiments from theperspective of epidemiology,” which served as abridge between the two fields of epidemiology andbiology. Dr. Kazutaka Doi, a researcher from the
National Institute of Radiological Sciences, gavea presentation titled “Can epidemiology markers
be generated with data from animal experiments?”
about the development of an R extension pack-

Sixth Epidemiological Training Workshop for Biologists held at Hijiyama Hall,
Hiroshima RERF
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RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

Conference and Workshop Reports
age for calculating excess relative and other risks.
Some participants requested that they be able touse the package. Lastly, there was a general discussion about a paper by Tomasetti et al., titled “Variation in cancer risk among tissues can be explainedby the number of stem cell divisions.” The research
described in the paper looks at changes in numberof mutations, rather than at individual genes asconventional studies have done. Understanding
the explanation was a challenge for many of theparticipants.
We were worried about the participants’ journey
home through the approaching typhoon. Fortunately, those from the east were able to return asscheduled via eastbound Shinkansen train service,
which was not affected.
In this year’s workshop, less time was spent
introducing RERF’s research to allow more time
for presentations bridging epidemiological and biological research. New this year were presentations
by researchers from the Central Research Instituteof Electric Power Industry and the National Institute of Radiological Sciences.
Participants were asked to complete a question-

update 20
naire at the end of the workshop. Some told us
what they plan to present next year, responses thatwill help with planning for the next workshop. A
participant reported finding the workshop educational because it helped him remember the manythings he had learned at previous workshops andsubsequently forgotten. His comment reminded
us why we must keep holding the workshop. In
response to demands to restore the theme “Radiation biology for non-biologists,” employed at the
fourth workshop, we will include this session in
next year’s program.
On the next day, after the storm had passed, we
began moving the tables from Hijiyama Hall backto the Auditorium, only to find that the elevator wasout of service due to a power outage. But despite
this and other unexpected events, we successfully
wrapped up the workshop, the importance of which
we became well aware. I would like to express mysincere appreciation to the participants, the presenters, and the staff from the General Affairs Section
and the Department of Epidemiology, who helped
make this workshop possible.

*The Council of Radiation Effects Research Organizations, consisting of the Institute for Environmental Sciences, Kyoto
University, Nagasaki University, Hirosaki University, Hiroshima University, Fukushima Medical University, National
Institute of Radiological Sciences, and Radiation Effects Research Foundation (order of above institutes arranged
according to the Japanese syllabary), was established to develop understanding among radiation research organizations
and strengthen their alliance.

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RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 21

Science Articles

Risk of Death among Children of Atomic Bomb
Survivors after 62 Years of Follow-up:
A Cohort Study*
Eric. J. Grant
Department of Epidemiology, Hiroshima, RERF
*This article is based on the following publication:
Eric J. Grant, Kyoji Furukawa, Ritsu Sakata, Hiromi Sugiyama, Atsuko Sadakane, Ikuno
Takahashi, Mai Utada, Yukiko Shimizu, Kotaro Ozasa: Risk of Death among Children of
Atomic Bomb Survivors after 62 Years of Follow-up: A Cohort Study. Lancet Oncol 2015
(October); 16(13):1316–23 (doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(15)00209-0)

Study Findings
We did not observe any association of mortality in the children of the atomic bomb survivors
with parental (either paternal or maternal) radiation
exposure from the atomic bombings.
Explanation
We conducted a study of the relationshipbetween parental radiation exposure and the patterns of cancer and non-cancer deaths amongchildren conceived after the bombings in the F1
mortality cohort of the Radiation Effects Research
Foundation (RERF).
1. Study purpose
Radiation-induced hereditary effects have been
detected in many species, but no clear epidemiological effects have been demonstrated in humans.
This mortality study of children conceived by
the survivors of the atomic bombings includes
follow-up data since 1946, serving as an importantresource in the search for hereditary effects ofradiation exposure in humans.
2. Study methods
In this prospective cohort study (a follow-up
study of a fixed population), we assessed 75,327
children of atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima
and Nagasaki and unexposed controls who wereborn between 1946 and 1984 and followed up until
December 31, 2009. Analyses were conductedusing parental gonadal radiation doses from theatomic bombings. The primary health effects
endpoint was death due to cancer or non-cancer
disease, based on death certificates. We analyzed
deaths over the full follow-up period, divided into
the period between birth and until age 20 years
and the period at and after age 20. Analyses were
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performed using *Cox proportional hazards regression, and *hazard ratios (HR) were reported.
*Cox proportional hazards regression: Is a statistical methodology, developed by Sir DavidCox in the 1970s, to estimate the risk (or hazard) of the occurrence of an event. In this case,
we estimated the hazard of death. The word
“proportional” in the title is used because thehazard of those exposed to an agent is assumed
to be proportional to those unexposed to theagent.
*hazard ratios (HR): The hazards are compared
as a mathematical ratio. In this study, if theratio is 1.0, then the hazard of death is not
associated with parental radiation exposure.
3. Study results(1) Demographics:
Median follow-up was 54.3 years (*inter-quartile range: 45.4–59.3). A total of 5,183 participants
died from disease. The mean age of the 68,689
surviving children at the end of follow-up was 53.1
years (SD 7.9) with 15,623 (23%) older than age
60 years. For parents who were exposed to a nonzero gonadal dose of radiation, the mean gonadal
dose was 264 mGy (*SD 463).
*inter-quartile range: The inter-quartile range
describes the range from the 25th percentile
to the 75th percentile. This statistic is often
reported in combination with the ‘median’(50th percentile).
*SD: The standard deviation (SD) is a measureof the spread of the data and is often used in
combination with the mean value.
(2) Relationship between mortality and parental
exposure:
No association was detected between maternal gonadal radiation exposure and risk of death
RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

Science Articles
caused by cancer in the children (HR for 1 Gychange in exposure 0.891 [95% CI: 0.693–1.145];
p = 0.36) or risk of death caused by non-cancer diseases (HR: 0.973 [0.849–1.115]; p = 0.69). Similarly, paternal exposure had no effect on deaths
caused by cancer (HR: 0.815 [0.614–1.083]; p =0.14) or deaths caused by non-cancer disease (HR:1.103 [0.979–1.241]; p = 0.12). Analyses of theperiod birth until age 20, and the period at and afterage 20 also showed no association between parental exposure and mortality in the children.
*Confidence interval (95% CI): The confidence
interval means that if the experiment wererepeated 100 times, the “true value” of thehazard ratio would be within each experiment’s reported confidence interval 95% of thetime. Or stated another way, if the confidence
interval that we derived from our data does
not contain the “true” value, then an event has
occurred that had a 5% probability of happening by chance.
(3) Other findings:
Those born in the decade immediately after the

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update 22
bombings had higher non-cancer death rates thanthose born in later decades regardless of parental
exposure, but parental age at exposure or time
between parental exposure and childbirth had noeffect on risk of death.

Study SignificanceBased on RERF research results, late effectsof ionizing radiation exposure include increased
mortality risks in those exposed directly to theatomic bombs. Theoretical models of the transgenerational effects of radiation exposure predict moredisease based on genetic alterations in the childrenof people exposed to radiation. However, childrenof people directly exposed to the atomic bombs
in Hiroshima and Nagasaki had no indications ofdeleterious health effects after 62 years of followup. Epidemiological studies complemented bysensitive molecular biologic techniques are needed
to understand the overall effects of preconception
parental exposure to ionizing radiation on children
and are being pursued at RERF.

RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 23

Science Articles

Radiation Effects on Cognitive Function among
Atomic Bomb Survivors Exposed at orafter Adolescence*
Michiko Yamada
Department of Clinical Studies, Hiroshima, RERF
*This article is based on the following publication:
Michiko Yamada, Reid D. Landes, Yasuyo Mimori, Yoshito Nagano, Hideo Sasaki: Radiation
Effects on Cognitive Function among Atomic Bomb Survivors Exposed at or after Adolescence. The American Journal of Medicine; 1–6, 2015 [ONLINE AHEAD OF PRINT] (doi:
10.1016/j.amjmed.2015.09.002)

Study Findings
We analyzed longitudinal cognitive decline dataspanning two decades from atomic bomb survivors
exposed in or after adolescence. Radiation exposure was not significantly associated with late-life
pre-dementia cognition level or age-associatedcognitive decline.
Explanation
Cognitive function was evaluated in medical
examinations performed every other year from 1992
through 2011. The effects of radiation exposure on
longitudinal pre-dementia cognitive decline were
estimated after adjustment for age, sex, educationlevel, and occurrence of dementia during follow-up.
1. Study purpose
The objective was to investigate what effects radiation exposure in or after adolescence has on late-life
cognitive function by estimating longitudinal cognitive decline in the participants who did and in those
who did not develop dementia during follow-up.
2. Study methods
To observe longitudinal pre-dementia cognitive
decline, cognitive function was assessed in medical
examinations of 1,844 participants in the Hiroshima
Adult Health Study (AHS) who were exposed toatomic bomb radiation at or after the age of 13 and,in 1992, were between 60 and 80 years of age andfree of dementia. The Cognitive Abilities Screening
Instrument (CASI), a standardized survey of cognitive ability, was used to evaluate cognitive function.
Of that total, 313 participants developed dementia during follow-up from 1992 through 2011. A
mixed-effects* model was used to analyze changes
over time in pre-dementia cognitive scores.
*Mixed-effects model: This statistical model isuseful for analyzing repeated measurements
over time. It factors in both fixed and random
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effects (hence its name).
3. Study results(1) Cognition level was significantly lower inparticipants who were older, had a low levelof education, or developed dementia but was
unrelated to radiation dose or sex.
(2) Cognitive decline accelerated with age, dropping particularly rapidly in participants who
had developed dementia. Tendencies in ageassociated cognitive decline were unrelated toradiation or education.
(3) Radiation dose did not significantly affect cognition level or tendencies in age-related cognitive decline in the participants who did and in
those who did not develop dementia.

Study SignificanceInterest is growing in the effects of radiation
exposure on cognitive function as more patientssurvive malignancies. Research on survivors ofcancer radiation therapy has shown cognitive
decline many years after exposure in younger
patients exposed to high doses. But the effects
of high radiation therapy doses for cancer treatment are not easily distinguished from the effectsof the underlying cancer and chemotherapy. The
effects of moderate and lower radiation doses or inpatients undergoing radiation therapy at relatively
older ages, moreover, have not been sufficiently
studied. In this study, we evaluated cognitive function in elderly atomic bomb survivors exposed
once to a moderate or lower dose (≤4 Gy) in orafter adolescence. We did not find that radiation
exposure significantly affected cognition. A similarcognitive study has been carried out since 2011 of
AHS participants who were 12 years or younger at
the time of the A-bombings. Upon completion of
the four-year cross-sectional study, those data will
be analyzed.
RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 24

Science Articles

Long-Term Effects of the Rain Exposure
Shortly after the Atomic Bombings
in Hiroshima and Nagasaki*
Ritsu Sakata
Department of Epidemiology, Hiroshima, RERF
*This article is based on the following publication:
Ritsu Sakata, Eric J. Grant, Kyoji Furukawa, Munechika Misumi, Harry M. Cullings, Kotaro
Ozasa, and Roy E. Shore: Long-Term Effects of the Rain Exposure Shortly after the Atomic
Bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Radiat Res 2014 (November); 182(6):599–606

Study Findings
Using a population of individuals responding tosurveys from 1949 to 1961, we compared mortality and cancer incidence between those reporting
rain exposure shortly after the atomic bombing andthose reporting no such rain exposure. No increasein mortality or cancer incidence was observed inthose reporting rain exposure.
Explanation
1. Objectives
The objective of the study was to determine
whether mortality or cancer incidence was higher
among individuals reporting rain exposure shortly
after the atomic bombing than individuals reporting
no such rain exposure.
2. Methods
The study included 86,609 Life Span Study
cohort members who had an estimated Dosimetry
System 2002 (DS02) radiation dose. The Atomic
Bomb Casualty Commission, the predecessor to
the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, conducted surveys through personal interviews from1949 to 1961. Based on these survey results, therespondents were categorized into three groups
according to their response to the question on rain
exposure (i.e., “Yes,” “No,” “Unknown”). The
excess relative risks (ERRs) of mortality between
1950 and 2005 and cancer incidence between 1958
and 2005 were estimated among those reporting
rain exposure relative to those reporting no rain
exposure. The data were adjusted for city, sex, yearof birth, attained age, and individual DS02 dose
estimates from direct radiation exposure.
3. Results¾ Of the individuals interviewed, 42,050 (72%) in
Hiroshima and 25,064 (89%) in Nagasaki
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responded to the question on rain exposure. Of
these, 11,661 (20%) in Hiroshima and 733(2.6%) in Nagasaki reported rain exposure.
¾ The ERR of all-cause mortality from 1950 to2005 among those who reported rain exposurein Hiroshima was 0.01 (95% confidence interval(CI): -0.02, 0.04). The ERRs of mortality forsolid cancer and leukemia for the same period
were -0.02 (95% CI: -0.06, 0.04) and 0.06 (95%
CI: -0.15, 0.32), respectively. No significant
increase in risk was observed.
¾ A weak association was observed between allcause mortality and rain exposure in Nagasaki(ERR = 0.08, 95% CI: 0.00006, 0.17) for theentire period of observation (1950 to 2005).
However, the association was not statisticallysignificant for the period after all surveys had
been completed (1962 to 2005). The ERRs ofmortality for solid cancer and leukemia between
1950 and 2005 were 0.14 (95% CI: -0.01, 0.33)
and -0.03 (95% CI: -0.07, 0.02), respectively,
suggesting no significant increase in risk.
¾ No increase in cancer incidence in those whoreported rain exposure was observed in either
city.
The individuals reporting rain exposure in
Hiroshima were not at significantly higher risk ofmortality from all cause, solid cancer, or leukemia
or of developing solid cancer or leukemia. The
findings, however, were inconsistent for thosereporting rain exposure in Nagasaki; all-cause
mortality risk was higher for certain observation
periods and statistical models but not others. In
addition, risk estimates for cancer mortality andincidence were inconsistent with each other. These
inconsistencies could be attributable to the low
number of individuals who reported rain exposure
in Nagasaki (733), which is too small to provide
reliable statistical inference. In addition, answers to
RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

Science Articles
the question on rain exposure would more likely be“unknown” when the 1949–1961 surveys, including the question on rain exposure, were conducted
after individuals died and questions were answeredby their proxies who had no knowledge regardingwhether or not that individual had been caught inrain (outcome-dependent bias). It was also possible
when the surveys were conducted after individuals
had developed cancer or died that the respondents
might have associated this health outcome with
their rain-exposure experience (recall bias). For theobservation period after completion of the surveys(i.e., starting in 1962), analysis results were probably less affected by these biases. For this observation period, therefore, no significant increase in

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update 25
risk was observed in Nagasaki. No increased risk
was observed in either city for mortality from or
the occurrence of leukemia, which is often taken
to be a “sentinel” indicator of radiation effects. For
these reasons, the association observed in Nagasaki
is unlikely to be attributable to exposure to radiation from rain. In this study, a large percentage ofindividuals have missing data on rain exposure.
In addition, we did not obtain any information onrain exposure from a considerable proportion of
the subjects and no details were available on thecircumstances surrounding the rainfall and how
individuals experienced the rain from those providing the information on rain exposure. The results
should thus be interpreted with caution.

RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 26

Science Articles

Prognostic significance of premature ventricular
contractions without obvious heart diseases determined by standard 12-lead electrocardiography
considering their morphology*
Daisuke Haruta
Department of Clinical Studies, Nagasaki, RERF
*This article is based on the following publication:
Daisuke Haruta, Masazumi Akahoshi, Ayumi Hida, Nobuko Sera, Misa Imaizumi, Shinichiro
Ichimaru, Eiji Nakashima, Ikuno Takahashi, Waka Ohishi, Satoki Fukae, Koji Maemura: Prognostic significance of premature ventricular contractions without obvious heart diseases determined by standard 12-lead electrocardiography considering their morphology. Ann Noninvasive
Electrocardiol :1–10, 2015 (online ahead of print) (doi: 10.1111/anec.12275)

Study Findings
Premature ventricular contraction (PVC) (a typeof arrhythmia characterized by premature heart
contractions originating in one of the ventricles) inpatients with no overt underlying heart disease did
not increase the risk of all-cause death, death fromheart disease, or death from ischemic heart disease(angina pectoris and myocardial infarction). Analysis by underlying morphology, however, showed
the possibility that PVC with left bundle branch
block morphology (which has impulses arisingin the right ventricle and resembles a left bundle
branch conduction abnormality) increased the riskof death from ischemic heart disease.
Explanation
PVC—a common arrhythmia triggered by
impulses arising outside the normal conduction
pathway of the heart—occurs even in people withno underlying heart disease (pre-existing heart
condition, including angina pectoris, valve disease,or myocardial disease). No consensus has beenreached on the prognosis (mortality) of PVC withno underlying heart disease, and the effects of
disease morphology on outcome are not well characterized. We evaluated the outcomes of PVC in
Adult Health Study participants, analyzing the dataaccording to disease morphology.
1. Objectives
This study was designed to evaluate the outcomes of PVC in Adult Health Study participants
according to disease morphology and to review theassociation between PVC prevalence and radiationdose.
2. Methods
First, all 6685 Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomicReturn to Table of Contents

bomb survivors who were examined during the twoyear base period from January 1990 to December
1991 (period of case entry) were selected as candidates for analysis. Next, the 1000 participants withan overt underlying heart disease or EKG abnormality noted in the examination were excluded foran analysis population of 5685 participants, 67.1%
of whom were women. One hundred thirty-one
participants with PVC reported in 12-lead EKG
performed at the examination were then identified. These participants with PVC were classified
according to EKG morphology: left bundle branch
block (74), right bundle branch block (21), andother (36). They were followed through December
2008 for the endpoints of all-cause death, cardiac
death, and death from ischemic heart disease. Causeof death was based on information obtained fromdeath certificates. The data were tested with themultivariate Cox proportional hazards model to calculate the risk (hazard ratio) of the endpoints.
3. Results
No PVC morphology (overall, left bundle
branch block, right bundle branch block, other) was
associated with increased all-cause death or cardiac
death. Participants with PVC of left bundle branch
block morphology, however, were at significantly
higher risk of death from ischemic heart disease(hazard ratio, 2.73; 95% confidence interval, 1.11–
6.73). Our analyses revealed no significant correlation between radiation dose and the incidence of
PVC in the examination period.
The study data suggest that PVC with no overt
underlying heart disease could be a risk factor for
death from ischemic heart disease. Morphologicalclassification of PVC may therefore inform risk
evaluations for ischemic heart disease performed inhealth examinations.
RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 27

Human Interest Notes

Bioinformatics Sabbatical in Hawaii
John B. Cologne, Senior Scientist
Department of Statistics
I had the fortunate opportunity to spend twomonths (May–June 2015) at the University of
Hawaii Cancer Center (UHCC) in Honolulu,
Hawaii (first photo) to study methods of highdimensional “omics” data analysis and collaboratein the analysis of cellular pathway and network
genetic markers using genomic data. Motivating
my trip was encouragement that the Radiation
Effects Research Foundation (RERF) Statistics
Department received in 2014 from the Scientific
Advisory Committee (SAC) to undertake continued training and development of “big data” andgenomic data analysis skills and to establish relationships with external experts and organizations
with the aim of accelerating work on machinelearning and related methods for analysis of geneenvironment interaction.
I was eager to take up this challenge because of
my interest in bioinformatics and my yearning toobtain hands-on experience with true high-dimensional data. I had already learned some basics ofgenome-wide association (GWA) analysis using
Harvard PLINK software through a six-month collaboration with Dr. Kenji Shimizu, Department of
Molecular Genetics, Okayama University Graduate
School of Medicine and Dentistry, several years
ago, and had studied on my own to learn the useof kernel logistic regression methods of testing
genomic association and gene-environment inter-action in case-control data. (Kernel logistic regression is based on support vector machine learningand implemented in the SKAT and iSKAT packages in R software.)Having been introduced to UHCC by former
RERF visiting research scientist Dr. Marc Troup
Goodman, Director, Cancer Prevention and Genetics, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, I
knew UHCC had a joint biostatistics/informatics
group, biologists collaborating closely with theircancer epidemiology program, and heavy involvement in studies of gene-environment interaction incancers based on high-dimensional molecular data.
UHCC therefore offered a unique opportunity forme to gain experience with high-dimensional data
and to practice genomic analysis based on cellularpathways/networks (gene sets, which are basedon combining single nucleotide polymorphisms—
SNPs—that are related through common disease
pathways) in a rich environment of collaborating
statisticians, epidemiologists, biologists, and informaticians (specialists in the field of informatics).
The Biostatistics Group at UHCC collaborates
with the Department of Preventive Medicine at
the University of Southern California (USC) KeckSchool of Medicine on the Multi-Ethnic Cohort(MEC) study of interaction between genomic andlifestyle/dietary factors as well as genetic susceptibility in relation to causation of cancer. RERF Con-

University of Hawaii’s Cancer Center, where Dr. John Cologne, Senior
Scientist, Statistics Dept., studied on sabbatical
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RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

Human Interest Notes
sultant Dr. Dan Stram, Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine, Division of Biostatistics, USC
Keck School of Medicine, is intimately involved inthat program, and he introduced me to Dr. Lynne
Wilkins, Co-Director, Biostatistics & Informatics
Shared Resource, UHCC. The MEC includes a
sub-population of people of Japanese descent that
may facilitate validation studies (which are sorely
needed in genomic research because of small sample sizes and many non-reproducible false-positive
findings).
While at UHCC I had access to data from bothgenome-wide and targeted SNP arrays: the latter was the “MetaboChip,” designed for studying
metabolic, cardiovascular, and anthropometric
traits and their relationship to disease. GWA data
were available on more than 300,000 SNPs which,with imputation based on linkage disequilibrium(LD) using data from the 1000 Genomes Project(an international consortium launched in 2008 to
establish a catalog of human genomic variation indiverse ethnic groups), produced genotypes on overfour million variants for the Japanese sub-population of the MEC.
The anonymized MetaboChip data, which I
was provided through a data-sharing agreement
between UHCC and RERF and was able to bringback to Japan with me, includes about 200,000
SNPs from about 8,000 persons of Japanese ancestry with 676 cases of colorectal cancer. I am currently analyzing those data for association between
colorectal cancer and various cell-signaling pathways related to cancer risk. Because there is noradiation exposure in the MEC, I am unable to testfor gene-radiation interaction in those data. However, given the relatively small size of available
data and limited number of colorectal cancer casesin the RERF data, results from the MEC Japanesedata should be useful in terms of focusing RERF
analyses on potential risk variants (statistical poweris greater in GWA studies than in RERF’s if thenumbers of non-informative SNPs can be minimized).
Finally, while at UHCC I met with a group of
informaticians and mathematicians who are doing
cutting-edge research on statistical methods ofanalysis of integrated omics data. Because any one
level of omics gives an incomplete picture of thecomplex mechanisms of cancer risk (for example,
a risk variant cannot confer a risk if not expressed),
these researchers are implementing mathemati-

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update 28
cal procedures to combine multivariate outcomes(e.g., genotype, expression, and methylation) andto search for common patterns. Among the procedures they use are methods of sparse principal
components analysis, which is described in thebook “Analysis of Multivariate and High-Dimensional Data” by Inge Koch, Associate Professor,
School of Mathematical Sciences, Universityof Adelaide, Australia, who previously visited
Hiroshima and presented her high-dimensional
results to the Hiroshima Statistics Study Group in
January of 2015 (please see the Summer 2015 edition of Update, page 23).
It is not possible to describe in a brief news
article all of the experience and knowledge I gained
during my two months in Hawaii. However, as “apicture is worth a thousand words,” I will sharewith readers the view from my office at UHCC
(photo below), from which I hope they can sense
the refreshment and renewed vigor I felt. I also
had the opportunity to interact with statisticiansin other fields at the University of Hawaii during
my two seminars: one describing my research into
methods of sampling from cohorts, the other on mystudy of bias arising from omitting covariates fromexcess relative risk models for binary outcome
data. No photo can capture the stimulation of new
research ideas I was treated to by Dr. Wilkins andthe many other kind and knowledgeable researchers at UHCC through numerous meetings anddiscussions, but that should become apparent as I
now focus on finding ways to integrate my newly
gained skills and knowledge in my various projects
at RERF.

View from Dr. Cologne’s office

RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 29

Human Interest Notes

My Starting Point
Kyoji Furukawa, Associate Senior Scientist
Department of Statistics
I flew to Sri Lanka in late July 2015 after
a presentation I gave at a scientific meeting in
Singapore. Sri Lanka is a tropical island nation a
bit smaller than Hokkaido and located in the Indian
Ocean. The island is known for its tea, jewels,ancient ruins (many of which are World Heritage
sites), and stunning beaches.
My connection with the country goes back 20
years.
Aspiring to see as many countries as possible
while young, I quit my job in my mid-20s andapplied for an overseas volunteer position at theJapan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
After successfully passing the screening and undergoing three months of training in Japan, I was sent
to Sri Lanka in April 1995. I spent two-and-a-halfyears as an instructor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of
Moratuwa near the capital city of Colombo. I felt
more worried than excited flying into Sri Lanka,
which was then in a state of civil war due to ethnic
tensions. There were nightly curfews and travel
restrictions as well as frequent terrorist bombings. Once I arrived, though, I felt safe so longas I stayed in the faculty residence on campus in
the suburbs. All the friendly assistance I received
allowed me to live in peace and security. (The civil
war, which began in 1983, ended finally in 2009.)
Students of the fewer than 10 universities inthe entire country, which had a population of 20
million, represented the nation’s elites. My job
was mainly to teach students how to develop artificial intelligence and applications for such tech-

nologies, as well as to provide guidance for theirprojects. When I lectured, I always marveled at
how engaged all the competent and hardworking
students were. Giving over 150 hours of classes
in English taught me so much. I spent long hours
in preparation to make up for my limited expertiseand English ability. I tried to make my lectures
simple but fun, using intriguing examples. This
experience molded my present style of researchand presentation. I also learned through teaching at
the university the importance of statistics, which is
my specialty today.
I treasure all I did with my students: I celebrated
with a student group when they won a researchcompetition, and had beach parties, traveled, andplayed cricket with them. I learned a lot watching
the students in Sri Lanka strive for limited opportunities with a can-do attitude even though thecountry was not nearly as blessed as Japan in many
aspects. Wanting to be a better teacher, I decided topursue a doctorate in the United States. In this way,
Sri Lanka was the starting point of my research
career.
The purpose of my most recent visit to Sri
Lanka in July 2015 was to give a lecture at the
ESOFT College of Engineering & Technology
in Moratuwa at the invitation of a friend of mine,
who was a colleague when I was working as an
instructor. As with many developing countries, Sri
Lanka has a high demand for engineers and information technology workers to support economic
growth. In my lecture titled “Risk and statisticaldecision-making,” I talked to promising engineer-

Dr. Furukawa teaching in classroom, 20 years ago

Dr. Kyoji Furukawa in Sri Lanka, thenReturn to Table of Contents

RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 30

Human Interest Notes
ing students about how risks are analyzed and utilized for decision-making, citing radiation researchand environmental risk assessments as examples.
Although the atomic bombings of Hiroshima andNagasaki are well known in Sri Lanka, the students
seemed to know little about the prolonged healtheffects from radiation exposure. Surrounded asthey are by extensive damage from the earthquake
in the Indian Ocean off Sumatra and the ensuing
tsunami in 2004, the students showed great interestin the damage from the tsunami in Tohoku, Japan,
and the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
power plant.
During my stay, I also met up with old colleagues I had not seen in several decades andenjoyed short trips such as to tea fields up in thehills. Leaving the fast-changing urban area, I was
reunited with rice fields and palm trees in the countryside. Local people were still friendly, speaking
to me wherever I went. Speaking Sinhala, the local
language that I thought I had forgotten, eating currywith my fingers, and watching from the beach as
the sun set into the Indian Ocean, I returned to myyounger days 20 years ago. Back then, about toturn 30, I was optimistically following my intuition
to try to build a future for myself despite any clear
sense of purpose. My recent trip to Sri Lanka mademe realize that those young days are the foundationof who I am today.

Dr. Furukawa, in classroom 20 years later

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RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

Facts and Figures

update 31

RERF Epidemiological Study of Health Effects inFukushima Emergency Workers
The Radiation Effects Research Foundation(RERF) has commenced preparations for the
conduct of a first-time study of radiation healtheffects in a population different from the atomic
bomb survivors: nuclear emergency workers who
were involved in the response to the accident at
the Fukushima Daiichi (No. 1) nuclear power plant
between March 14 and December 16, 2011. During this period, the Japanese national government
raised the exposure limit for such emergency countermeasure workers from 100 millisievert (mSv) to
250 mSv in order to contain as best as possible asituation that looked close to being out of control.
The roughly 20,000 total workers, who are
now scattered in every one of Japan’s 47 prefectures, received doses that were generally low
and low-dose rate (protracted, i.e., received overan extended period of time, as opposed to the
A-bomb survivors’ doses, which were received
almost instantaneously). RERF started health surveys of around 5,000 such workers still resident
in Fukushima prefecture at the initiation of thestudy in the early spring of 2015. For this initial
portion of the study, RERF sent letters around theend of January to those workers living in the pre-fecture requesting their participation in the study,
but many of the letters were returned because
the addressee could not be located. By the reply
deadline at the end of February, only around 1,000
people had responded. From August 17 to the endof September 2015, letters had been sent to about
17,000 workers, with 7,000 responding (8,000 not
responding), and 74% of that number agreeing toparticipate. A study cohort is planned to be established within the first five years, and the greatest
challenge for the study administrators appears to be
improving this participation rate.
A-bomb survivors have doses that range up into
the tens of gray (or, Gy) in a few cases, although
doses above 4 Gy are generally truncated to 4 Gyfor use in RERF analyses. Workers in the
Fukushima study, abbreviated as the NEW Study,
mostly have received doses <0.1 Sv (100 mSv),
with only 174 workers having doses >0.1 Sv andan estimated nine workers with doses >0.2 Sv (200mSv). The greatest radiation exposure for any of
the workers during this timeframe has beenreported as being 679 mSv.
The first period of the NEW Study contract will
be for five years, although it is expected that theCurrent location of the nearly 20,000 Fukushima emergency workers, who are spread throughout
all 47 prefectures of Japan, including Okinawa (not shown on map; as of December 2014)
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RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

Facts and Figures
study will be renewed every five years, with theparticipants followed throughout their lifetimes.
The RERF Life Span Study (LSS), in contrast,
has been following survivors for 65 years to thispoint in time for mortality and 57 years for cancer
incidence. The RERF Adult Health Study (AHS),
which is more like the NEW Study in that it
involves medical examinations of the participants,
has been continued for 57 years.
Participants in the NEW Study will receive
repeated medical examinations at clinics throughout Japan, with at least one clinic in each of the 47
prefectures. The study will be led by Dr. Toshiteru
Okubo, former RERF Chairman, and will involve

update 32
investigators from RERF along with collaborating
investigators from at least 12 other research organizations in Japan.
According to Dr. Okubo, “The study will gauge
whether low-dose exposure to radiation, includinginternal exposure or accumulation of a daily dose,
affects health. It is also highly significant in thatthe results will be compared with those of studies of A-bomb survivors.” As of March 2015, theestimated cost for the health survey through fiscal
2018 is expected to reach about 2.3 billion yen,including the amount to be distributed to the external collaborators.

Note: Sievert is used as the dose unit here for the nuclear workers, as it is the unit for radiation dose equivalent usedin radiation protection and associated regulations. For the atomic bomb survivors, RERF uses dose units ofweighted absorbed dose in gray with a particular, specified weight for neutrons, rather than the energy-dependent neutron weights recommended by international advisory bodies for converting absorbed dose in gray todose equivalent in sievert. The two units are essentially equivalent in this particular context.

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RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

Research Protocols

Research Protocols Approved in May–
October 2015
RP 2-15 Histopathological evaluation ofhuman thymus architecture changes following
radiation exposure and aging (An addendum
to RP-B-48-09 and RP-P2-11)
Reiko Ito, Junko Kajimura, Kengo Yoshida, Seishi
Kyoizumi, Kotaro Ozasa, Tomonori Hayashi, Koji
Arihiro, Susan M. Geyer, Laura P. Hale, Gregory D.
Sempowski, Nancy R. Manley, Marcel R. M. vanden Brink, Munechika Misumi, Kei Nakachi,
Yoichiro Kusunoki
Preliminary studies under RP-B-48-09 and
RP-P2-11 have thus far found that thymus autopsy
specimens from a total of 205 Life Span Study(LSS) cases were available at the Radiation Effects
Research Foundation (RERF) for investigating theeffects of radiation exposure and aging on humanthymus architecture. A subset of 76 cases selectedfrom all available specimens were examined byhistochemical staining; these analyses revealed sufficient quality for conventional histopathologicalanalyses. In this proposed study, we will develop ascoring system for selected pathological endpoints
related to thymus tissue morphology using healthy
normal, unexposed thymus specimens, and utilize
this system to score the 205 LSS autopsy caseswith thymus specimens. Differences in human thymus architecture based on radiation exposure andaging will be evaluated in terms of this histological scoring system to be established. We will also
validate Multitaper Circularly Averaged Spectral
Analysis (MiCASA) approach for evaluating thymus architecture and assess how these endpoints
may differ based on radiation exposure and age.
Through these histological approaches, we will test
the hypothesis that radiation exposure and aging
reduce active thymopoiesis by altering the thymic
microenvironment in conjunction with shrinkage ofthe thymic epithelial area.
RP 3-15 Research protocol for collection andtransfer of samples and information by the
Biosample Center at the Radiation Effects
Research Foundation
Misa Imaizumi, Tomonori Hayashi, Atsuko Sadakane,
Kotaro Ozasa, Harry M. Cullings, Waka Ohishi,
Ayumi Hida, Yoichiro Kusunoki, Hiroaki Katayama,
Yoshiaki Kodama
Multifactorial diseases are the result of complex interactions among lifestyle, environment,
individual sensitivity, genetic components, andother factors. In recent years, researchers of these
diseases comprehensively perform clinical andepidemiological analysis to identify contributing
lifestyle and environmental factors in conjunction
Return to Table of Contents

update 33
with basic research using biological samples. This
comprehensive approach not only elucidates causesof specific diseases but leads to the establishmentof methods for their early detection and prevention.
To be useful for research, biological samples must
be of adequate quality, volume and number andmust satisfy ethical criteria based on the informed
consent of sample donors. Additionally, highquality clinical, epidemiological, and pathologicalinformation must be available for samples. Thus,
to satisfy these conditions, the importance of infrastructural development for “biobanks” that support
large-scale research using human samples is on therise.
The Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission(ABCC) and Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) have long retained biological samples
provided by A-bomb survivors and their children,
such as blood, urine, pathological specimens, andteeth. But, until this time, individual researchersand departments were entrusted to select sample
storage methods and manage sample information. Realizing the need to indefinitely preserve
our valuable biological sample collection in goodcondition and promote research that uses thesesamples, the integrated management of samples,
and the establishment of sample information databases, RERF established the Biosample Center(hereinafter: “the Center”) in April 2013.
Samples and related information kept at individual departments will be transferred to the Center
when it begins operating, and samples collected
after the start of operations will be handled andstored in the Center according to written procedures. Sample information will be integrally
managed in RERF databases. Quality control ofstored samples will be conducted periodically inaccordance with a “Quality Control Manual” to becreated for the Center. The Center will collaborate
with the Committee on Biological Samples to formulate detailed regulations governing the use of
RERF biological samples. Researchers and other
employees involved in the activities of the Center
will be required to observe the “Radiation Effects
Research Foundation Regulations for Protectionof Personal Information” as well as all applicable laws, regulations, and guidelines, including
Japanese government ethical guidelines pertaining
to biomedical research involving human subjects
and human genome and genetic analysis. Informed
consent information will be stored in the databases
and associated with the samples. Every sample provided will be appropriately anonymized.
Thus, the Center aims to integrally manage
RERF’s biological samples and sample information to ensure that they can be stored and usedproperly to further elucidate the role of radiation indiseases and biological and molecular changes in
RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

update 34

Recent Publications
A-bomb survivors and their children.

Recent Publications

RP 4-15 Two-dimensional speckle-tracking
strain analysis in the Adult Health Study subjects (Addendum to RP 2-14)
Ikuno Takahashi, Daisuke Haruta, Takayuki Hidaka,
Akira Tsuneto, Junko Kajimura, Tomonori Hayashi,
Kyoji Furukawa, Misa Imaizumi, Ayumi Hida, Waka
Ohishi, Masaaki Takeuchi, Yasuki Kihara
We propose this research protocol as an addendum for RP 2-14 with the aim of investigating theassociation between atomic bomb radiation andvarious kinds of cardiac dysfunction using theechocardiographic speckle-tracking analysis technique. This addendum will be based on RP 2-14
with regard to the study period and participants,
which total 2,700 Adult Health Study (AHS) participants aged 15 years or younger at the time ofbombings. The primary endpoint will be longitudinal/circumferential global strain acquired using
speckle-tracking analyses. Other measurements
of integrated backscatter (IBS) will be measured
as our sub-endpoints. These measurements arethought to be involved in valvular function and cardiac fibrosis. The stored images already collected
since June 2014 will be quantified on the basis of
informed consent we have already obtained fromthe participants for future studies.

(Japanese): the original article is in Japanese.

RP 5-15 Ophthalmological Study of A-bomb
Survivors Using a New Ophthalmic Camera
Ayumi Hida, Misa Imaizumi, Daisuke Haruta,
Yoshimi Tatsukawa, Fukiko Mitsui, Waka Ohishi,
Kyoji Furukawa, Hiroaki Katayama, Yoshiaki
Kiuchi, Takashi Kitaoka, Hiroshi Sasaki
Previous ophthalmological studies have shown
significant association between A-bomb radiationand posterior subcapsular opacities. However,significant association between A-bomb radiation and cortical opacities was observed only inthe 2000–2002 ophthalmological study, involving
837 A-bomb survivors. Due to inconsistent photographic methods, re-analyses of the lens images
stored from this study were not possible.
In this research, we will conduct a cataract study
among Adult Health Study (AHS) participants(including in utero survivors) who were exposed
to A-bomb radiation at the age of 15 or younger,
using a standard epidemiological study method
now widely employed for investigating cataract.
Under the supervision of experts in relevant fields,
we will photograph and store digital images ofthe lenses, using a new, well-suited photographic
device under appropriate, controlled photographic
conditions. Subsequently, cataract specialists willcollectively evaluate stored images for lens opacity
and analyze association with radiation exposure.

Return to Table of ContentsÅsvold BO et al. (RERF: Imaizumi M): Thyroid
function within the normal range and risk of coronary heart disease: An individual participantdata analysis of 14 cohorts. JAMA Intern Med
2015 (June); 175(6):1037–47.
Blum MR et al. (RERF: Imaizumi M); Thyroid
Studies Collaboration: Subclinical thyroid dysfunction and fracture risk: a meta-analysis.
JAMA 2015 (May); 313(20):2055–65.
Chaker L et al. (RERF: Imaizumi M): Subclinicalhypothyroidism and the risk of stroke events andfatal stroke: An individual participant data analysis. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2015 (April);jc20151438:1–11.
Chen Y et al. (RERF: Grant E, Ozasa K, Ohishi
W): Association between body mass index andcardiovascular disease mortality in east Asians
and south Asians: Pooled analysis of prospective
data from the Asia Cohort Consortium. BMJ
2013 (October); 347(f5446):1–19.
Fujino H, Imamura M, Nagaoki Y, Kawakami Y,
Abe H, Hayes CN, Kan H, Fukuhara T,
Kobayashi T, Masaki K, Ono A, Nakahara T,
Honda Y, Naeshiro N, Urabe A, Yokoyama S,
Miyaki D, Murakami E, Kawaoka T, Hiraga N,
Tsuge M, Hiramatsu A, Hyogo H, Aikata H,
Takahashi S, Miki D, Ochi H, Ohishi W,
Chayama K; Hiroshima Liver Study Group: Predictive value of the IFNL4 polymorphism on
outcome of telaprevir, peginterferon, and ribavirin therapy for older patients with genotype 1bchronic hepatitis C. J Gastroenterol 2014
(December); 49(12):1548–56.
Grant EJ, Furukawa K, Sakata R, Sugiyama H,
Sadakane A, Takahashi I, Utada M, Shimizu Y,
Ozasa K: Risk of death among the children of theatomic bomb survivors, an update after 62 years
of follow-up: A cohort study. Lancet Oncol 2015
(October); 16(13):1316–23. (RERF Report 7-15)
Hamatani K, Takahashi K, Taga M: Thyroid cancer: Molecular characteristics of radiation-associated papillary thyroid cancer, with a specialreference to of atomic radiation exposure. J Thyroid Disorders Ther 2015 (May); 4(2):1–7.
(Commentary and Review Series 2-09)
Hirabayashi Y, Tsuboi I, Nakachi K, Kusunoki Y,
Inoue T: Experimentally induced, synergistic late
RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

Recent Publications
effects of a single dose of radiation and aging:significance in LKS fraction as compared withmature blood cells. J Appl Toxicol 2015 (March);
35(3):230–40.
Hu Y, Yoshida K, Cologne JB, Maki M, Morishita
Y, Sasaki K, Hayashi I, Ohishi W, Hida A,
Kyoizumi S, Kusunoki Y, Tokunaga K, Nakachi
K, Hayashi T: CD14 and IL18 gene polymorphisms associated with colorectal cancer subsite
risks among atomic bomb survivors. Hum
Genome Variat 2015 (October); 2(15035):1–9.
(RERF Report 5-15)
Ishikawa T, Yasumura S, Ozasa K, Kobashi G,
Yasuda H, Miyazaki M, Akahane K, Yonai
S, Ohtsuru A, Sakai A, Sakata R, Kamiya K,
Abe M: The Fukushima Health Management
Survey: Estimation of external doses toresidents in Fukushima Prefecture. Sci Rep
2015 (August); 5(12712):1–11.
Itakura K, Takahashi I, Nakashima E, Yanagi M,
Kawasaki R, Neriishi K, Wang JJ, Wong TY,
Hida A, Ohishi W, Kiuchi Y: Exposure to atomic
bomb radiation and age-related macular degeneration in later life: The Hiroshima-Nagasaki
atomic bomb survivor study. Invest Ophth Vis
Sci 2015 (August); 56(9):5401–6. (RERF Report
13-14)Kamiya K, Ozasa K, Akiba S, Niwa O, Kodama K,
Takamura N, Zaharieva EK, Kimura Y, Wakeford
R: Long-term effects of radiation exposure on
health. Lancet 2015 (August); 386(9992):469–
78.
Kawasaki Y, Hosoya M, Yasumura S, Ohira T,
Satoh H, Suzuki H, Sakai A, Ohtsuru A,
Takahashi A, Ozasa K, Kobashi G, Kamiya K,
Yamashita S, Abe M; Fukushima Health Management Survey Group: The basic data for residents aged 16 years or older who received acomprehensive health check examination in
2011–2012 as a part of the Fukushima HealthManagement Survey after the great East Japan
earthquake. Fukushima J Med Sci 2014;
60(2):159–69.
Kyoizumi S: The immune system. Morita N et al.,eds. Structure and function of human body, practical anatomy and physiology. Tokyo: Kodansha;
2015, pp 101–10. (Japanese)
Lee JE et al. (RERF: Grant EJ, Ozasa K, OhishiW): Meat intake and cause-specific mortality: A
pooled analysis of Asian prospective cohort stud-

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update 35
ies. Am J Clin Nutr 2013 (October); 98(4):1032–
41.
Lin Y et al. (RERF: Grant E): Association of bodymass index and risk of death from pancreaticcancer in Asians: Findings from the Asia Cohort
Consortium. Eur J Cancer Prevent 2013 (May);
22(3):244–50.
Nakamura K, Nakagawa H, Sakurai M, Murakami
Y, Irie F, Fujiyoshi A, Okamura T, Miura K,
Ueshima H; The EPOCH-JAPAN ResearchGroup (RERF: Yamada M): Influence of smoking combined with another risk factor on the riskof mortality from coronary heart disease andstroke: Pooled analysis of 10 Japanese cohort
studies. Cerebrovasc Dis 2012 (May); 33(5):480–
91.
Nakashima E: Radiation dose response estimation
with emphasis on low dose range using restrictedcubic splines: Application to all solid cancer
mortality data, 1950–2003, in atomic bomb survivors. Health Phys 2015 (July); 109(1):15–24.
(RERF Report 3-14)
Noda A, Mishima S, Hirai Y, Hamasaki K, Mitani
H, Haga K, Kiyono T, Nakamura N, Kodama Y,
Landes RD: Progerin, the protein responsible for
the Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome,
increases the unrepaired DNA damages following exposure to ionizing radiation. Gene Environ
2015 (October); 37(13):1–12. (RERF Report
5-13)
Noda A, Suemori H, Hirai Y, Hamasaki K, Kodama
Y, Mitani H, Landes RD, Nakamura N: Creation of mice bearing a partial duplicationof HPRT gene marked with a GFP gene anddetection of revertant cells in situ as GFPpositive mutant cells. PLoS ONE 2015 (August);
10(8);e0136041:1–18. (RERF Report 10-14)
Nozaki A, Ando T, Akazawa S, Satoh T, Sagara I,
Horie I, Imaizumi M, Usa T, Yanagisawa RT,
Kawakami A: Quality of life in the patients withcentral diabetes insipidus assessed by Nagasaki
Diabetes Insipidus Questionnaire. Endocrine
2015(May): 1–8 [Epub ahead of print].
Ohira T, Hosoya M, Yasumura S, Satoh H, Suzuki
H, Takahashi A, Sakai A, Otsuru A, Kawasaki Y,
Ozasa K, Kobashi G, Kamiya K, Yamashita S,
Abe M: How lifestyle affects health—Changes
in health status before and after the earthquake.
Fukushima J Med Sci 2014; 60(2):211–2.

RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

Recent Publications

update 36

Ohtsuru A, Tanigawa K, Kumagai A, Niwa O,
Takamura N, Midorikawa S, Nollet K, Yamashita
S, Ohto H, Chhem RK, Clarke M: Nuclear
disasters and health: Lessons learned, challenges, and proposals. Lancet 2015 (August);
386(9992):489–97.

Publications Using RERF Data

Sadakane A, Ozasa K: Health effects of atomicbomb radiation exposures. Prog Med 2015
(May); 35(5):23–7. (Japanese)

Radivoyevitch T, Sachs RK, Gale RP, Molenaar RJ,
Brenner DJ, Hill BT, Kalaycio ME, Carraway
HE, Mukherjee S, Sekeres MA, Maciejewski JP:
Defining AML and MDS second cancer risk
dynamics after diagnoses of first cancers treatedor not with radiation. Leukemia 2015:1–10.
[Epub ahead of Print]

Sasatani M, Xu Y, Kawai H, Cao L, Tateishi S,
Shimura T, Li J, Iizuka D, Noda A, Hamasaki K,
Kusunoki Y, Kamiya K: RAD18 activates theG2/M checkpoint through DNA damage signaling to maintain genome integrity after ionizing
radiation exposure. PLoS ONE 2015 (February);
10(2);e0117845:1–16.

Ohtaki M, Tonda T, Aihara K: A two-phase Poissonprocess model and its application to analysis ofcancer mortality among A-bomb survivors. Math
Biosci 2015; 268:31–7.

Satoh H, Ohira T, Hosoya M, Sakai A, Watanabe T,
Ohtsuru A, Kawasaki Y, Suzuki H, Takahashi A,
Kobashi G, Ozasa K, Yasumura S, Yamashita S,
Kamiya K, Abe M: Evacuation after the
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident Is a Cause of Diabetes: Results from the
Fukushima Health Management Survey. J Diabetes Res 2015 (May); 2015(627390):1–9.
Satoh M, Ohkubo T, Asayama K, Murakami Y,
Sakurai M, Nakagawa H, Iso H, Okayama A,
Miura K, Imai Y, Ueshima H, Okamura T; The
EPOCH-JAPAN Research Group (RERF:
Yamada M): Combined effect of blood pressure
and total cholesterol levels on long-term risks ofsubtypes of cardiovascular death: Evidence for
Cardiovascular Prevention from Observational
Cohorts in Japan. Hypertension 2015 (March);
65(3):517–24.
Suzuki H, Ohira T, Takeishi Y, Hosoya M,
Yasumura S, Satoh H, Kawasaki Y, Takahashi A,
Sakai A, Ohtsuru A, Kobashi G, Ozasa K,
Yamashita S, Kamiya K, Abe M; Fukushima
Health Management Survey Group: Increased
prevalence of atrial fibrillation after the Great
East Japan Earthquake: Results from the
Fukushima Health Management Survey. Int J
Cardiol 2015 (July); 198:102–5.
Wang C, Oshima M, Sashida G, Tomioka T,
Hasegawa N, Kusunoki Y, Kyoizumi S, Imai K,
Nakachi K, Iwama A: Non-lethal ionizing radiation promotes aging-like phenotypic changes ofhuman hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells
in humanized mice. PLoS ONE 2015 (July);
10(7);e0132041:1–14.

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RERF Update Volume 26, Issue 2, 2015

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