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Updated: Jun 21, 2026
An Automated Microscopic Scoring Method for the γ-H2AX Foci Assay in Human Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes
Published on: December 25, 2021
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and occupational radiation exposure assessed using local data
Ken K Karipidis1, Geza Benke, Malcolm R Sim
1EMR Section, Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, Victoria, Australia. ken.karipidis@arpansa.gov.au
Background:
Our previous investigation of occupational exposure to ionizing radiation using a Finnish job-exposure matrix (JEM) showed no association with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in a population-based case-control study in Australia.
Aims:
To determine whether occupational exposure to ionizing radiation assessed using an Australian JEM is associated with NHL.
Methods:
We analysed 694 NHL cases, first diagnosed between 1 January 2000 and 31 August 2001 and 694 controls from south-eastern Australia, matched by age, sex and region of residence. A detailed occupational history was obtained using a lifetime calendar and a telephone interview. Exposure to radiation was assessed using the ionizing radiation component of an Australian JEM. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated from logistic regression models that included the matching variables as covariates.
Results:
The OR for workers ever exposed to ionizing radiation was 0.86 (95% CI = 0.52-1.40). Dividing the subjects into tertiles of exposure also found ORs that were close to or below the null for each exposure group.
Conclusions:
The application of an Australian JEM did not provide evidence for an association between NHL and occupational exposure to ionizing radiation and is consistent with previous analyses.
