Edward B. Lewis: His radiation leukemia article in Science journal: A turning point in cancer risk assessment

Edward B. Lewis published what is widely considered the most influential article in the history of cancer risk assessment. He was successful in changing the radiation risk assessment focus from transgenerational birth defect concerns to cancer due to his success in getting his article published in Science journal, receiving a highly laudatory editorial endorsement, and quickly becoming a prominent speaker to the U.S. Congress and the focus of a major story in Life magazine, amongst other notably rapid recognitions. However, what is generally not appreciated is that Lewis had no education and training in the complex topics of his article, with no professional knowledge of radiation, leukemia, biostatistics, epidemiology, and risk assessment. This article explores how the inexperienced Lewis benefited from the manipulation of Science by leaders in the scientific community and to avoid proper peer review. Despite the recognition of serious fundamental flaws in the Lewis article, it became embraced by the ideological leaders of the radiation genetics community who ensured the Lewis-based linear no-threshold (LNT) model for cancer risk assessment would become accepted and serve as the foundation for the adoption of the precautionary principle, which is the basis for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and European Union regulatory activities, and global regulatory entities.