Leukemia rates above normal, numbers show; Marion cancer study

By Jill Riepenhoff and Randall Edwards , Dispatch Staff Reporters Copyright 1998 Columbus Dispatch August 20, 1998

After a year of study, debate and speculation, state health officials last night released a new study indicating that leukemia rates are high in Marion city and county.

The study also indicates the problem appears to be centered among women over age 60, where the rate of leukemia is nearly triple what would be expected statistically, said Robert Indian, an epidemiologist with the Ohio Department of Health.

No evidence suggests that leukemia among residents under age 20 is high, Indian said. Two cases were reported, and two would be expected, he said.

Indian studied cancer incidence rates, looking at all cases of leukemia among residents who lived in Marion County when they were diagnosed between 1992 and 1996.

Indian could not say if his report indicates there is a health threat in the county.

"This is purely a numbers report," he said. "But indeed they are elevated. The odds of this occurring by chance alone are less than 5 out of 100."

His announcement drew mixed reactions from the 100 residents who heard him speak at River Valley High School.

"I'm not yet convinced there is a problem," said Marion Mayor Jack Kellogg. "They haven't compared us to any other counties. They won't do it. They can't afford to do it."

Sherrie Dunn, whose 5-year-old daughter has leukemia, is convinced a problem exists.

"The mayor doesn't want to see it because of the economy," she said, referring to local concerns about the impact of elevated cancer rates on local commerce. "It's not personally touching him."

A mortality study Indian completed last October showed a 122 percent increase in deaths during a 30-year period among leukemia victims who lived in the city of Marion. Unlike the new study, last year's study did not indicate an unusually high rate in rural Marion County.

The incidence report released yesterday completes the state's snapshot of Marion County's rate of leukemia, a rare cancer of the blood-forming cells. The report is likely to lead to a detailed study of victims to see if common risk factors exist.

The city and county continue to be under the environmental microscope of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, both of which started examining old industrial and military sites in the county last summer after the mortality study indicated an unusually high rate of leukemia.

Their investigations to determine if a health threat exists in the environment will not be completed until next summer at the earliest.

In his latest study of Marion County, Indian found 57 residents were diagnosed with leukemia between 1992 and 1996. Statistically, 39 cases would be expected in the county of about 65,000 residents.

Sixty percent of the cases were in women.

The most common type of leukemia detected was chronic lymphocytic leukemia at 39 percent. Fifteen cases among women were found when 1.9 would be expected.

"This finding raises the possibility of some factor that may be unique among female residents," Indian wrote in his report.

The causes of that form of leukemia are unknown.

Of the 25 cases diagnosed outside the city limits in Marion County, 17 of them live east of Rt. 23. Indian said that did not raise concerns even though the leukemia rates among graduates of River Valley High School was determined last summer to be unusually high.

The River Valley Middle and High School campus is located just east of the Marion city limits on Rt. 98, where cancer-causing chemicals have been found on school property. The school, which will open Aug. 24, was built on a former military depot.

"All three agencies have consistently and repeatedly maintained that this campus is safe for children," said Superintendent Tom Shade.

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