Published by Sciedu Press 43 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Hematological malignancies in Chernobyl clean-up

Background: Even 25 years after the Chernobyl catastrophe, the interpretation of the findings on leukemia risk among Chernobyl clean-up workers is still a point of much controversy. Precise diagnosis of the main types of hematopoietic malignancies according to FAB classification and new WHO classification may be helpful in estimating the relative contribution of the radiation factor to the overall incidence of such pathologies. Methods: The data on 295 consecutive cases of malignant tumors of hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues in Chernobyl clean-up workers diagnosed from 1996 to 2010 are given in comparison with the data of 2,697 consecutive patients other than clean-up workers of the same age group. For this study, a set of complex diagnostic techniques were used, including morphology, cytochemistry of bone marrow and peripheral blood cells, immunocytochemistry (APAAP, LSAB-AP) as well as the utilization of monoclonal antibodies to lineage specific and differentiation antigens of leukocytes. Results: All the main forms of tumors of hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues were diagnosed among clean-up workers under study in 10-25 years after the Chernobyl catastrophe including myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), acute leukemias (ALL and AML), chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and other myeloproliferative neoplasms, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) and lymphoid neoplasms of B and T cell origin. Among 46 AML cases in clean-up workers, leukemi