Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Prostate and Skin Cancer in Acute Radiation Syndrome Survivor After the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Accident: Case Report

Abstract

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

Pattern of chromosomal aberrations persisting over 30 years in a Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident survivor: study using mFISH

“…Alterations at the band 1q21 and CKS1B hyperexpression were associated with poor prognosis in plasma-cell dyscrasias [ 33 ]. Unlike this clone, malignant clones are typically characterized by a high frequency and imbalanced karyotype, such as the acute malignant myeloma clone recently reported by us in another Chernobyl victim [ 34 ], however, the patient of the present study does not manifest any signs of hematooncological diseases. Since clone t(1;15) was only detected in the 2019 year, the dynamics of its frequency remained unknown.…”

Autologous Hematopoietic Recovery after Unrelated Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation with Myeloablative Conditioning for Acute Myelogenous Leukemia

“…Repeated chromosomal analyses of the sternal and iliac BM showed that various non-clonal complex abnormalities from 20% to 80% in a single cell (25). In a victim of the 1986 accident at Chernobyl, a very high frequency of translocations was observed over 30 years (26). In a recent report from the JSHCT, TBI was administered to 40 of 42 recipients who experienced autologous recovery with chromosomal abnormalities (24).…”

A Pctran-Based Investigation on the Effect of Inadvertent Control Rod Withdrawal on the Thermal-Hydraulic Parameters of a Vver-1200 Nuclear Power Reactor

“…Long-term exposure to radioactive materials has caused carcinoma among thousands of people. Although most of the patients have suffered from Thyroid Cancer [4][5][6], other cases such as Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Prostate and Skin Cancer have also been reported [7]. The memory of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident in 2011 is still fresh among the mindset of people across the globe.…”