Are NYC Lymphoma Cases and the Chernobyl Disaster Connected?

Recent studies looking into elevated cases of lymphoma in New York City assess the possibility that they could be tied to the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

A rare type

Some lymphoma cases in New York City have shown an extremely rare type of the disease, leading experts to wonder what they could possibly have in common. Their hypothesis came as a shock to many, but they believe there may be a link to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine.

Researchers started investigating what could possibly cause so many cases of such a rare disease, within the same city, when ten people received diagnosis of vitreoretinal lymphoma, also called VRL, within four years - an unusually high number. The patients received their diagnoses at four ophthalmology and oncology practices in New York City. Of course, at this point clinicians became very curious about how so many cases could occur in such a relatively short period of time, and decided to reach out to an expert in genetic epidemiology.

VRL impacts the eyes of those who become afflicted with it, and happens alongside primary central nervous system lymphoma, which is a rare strain of non-Hodgkin lymphoma affecting the brain or spine. Approximately a quarter of those with central nervous system lymphoma will also suffer from VRL.

Because these cases in comparison to the normal incidence rate of VRL in the United States, and in New York State specifically, were so unusually high, researchers were able to officially label them as a "cluster." A cluster is defined as "an unusually high incidence of a disease occurring in close proximity both in time and location."

An unexpected link

Because these cases seemed so unusual, researchers decided to analyze the patients based on certain characteristics such as racial and ethnic background, family history, age at diagnosis, where they have lived throughout their lives, preexisting or coinciding medical conditions, and more. As they compiled this information, a glaring similarity presented itself. Six of the ten patients had lived in areas that were very near to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant when the radiation disaster occurred. The other four were not as close, but did live in the Ukraine, Poland, or Moldova at the time.

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant itself was located in Pripyat, Ukraine, within the Soviet Union on April 26, 1986, when the radioactive disaster occurred. It is considered to be the worst nuclear accident to ever happen. It occurred during a routine safety test that took place late in the night that was meant to simulate a station blackout power-failure. During this test, safety systems were turned off on purpose; however, what followed was certainly an accident that became a disaster. The reactor had design flaws, the reactor operators arranged the core in a subpar manner (not following the test checklist), and as a result, uncontrolled reaction conditions were present. Water became steam, sparking a steam explosion and open-air graphite fire. This was not only impactful for those in the immediate surrounding area at the time; there were updrafts for an entire nine days after the fact. Experts suggest that the amount of radioactive substances entering the atmosphere was comparable to airborne fission products that were released in the initial explosion.

Read on to learn more about this connection.