The truth behind the government's spin on polycythemia vera rates

The following article is from the Web site of Dante Picciano:

POLYCYTHEMIA VERA CANCER EPIDEMIC
by Dante Picciano
November 9, 2007

On October 24, 2007, the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH) released the results of a polycythemia vera (PV) investigation in this area.

The ATSDR confirmed 38 cases of PV in Schuylkill, Luzerne and Carbon counties during 2001-2005 using a recently discovered genetic marker known as JAK2.

Subsequently, we reported that an analysis of the ATSDR's own data actually showed 131 cases of PV, more than 5 times the expected number of cases. The ATSDR then responded that the 131 cases of PV that we showed were unsubstantiated because not all of the 131 people were tested with the JAK2 test.

The ATSDR scientists stated that they estimated the expected incidence of PV to be approximately 0.9 in 100,000 per year. The ATSDR used the same selection criteria to arrive at the 131 figure that it did to arrive at the 0.9 in 100,000 estimate. Few, if any, of the people used in the 0.9 in 100,000 estimate were tested for the JAK2 mutation.

Let's take a closer look at the ATSDR's data. At the October 24th meeting, the ATSDR presented Slide 6 entitled "Polycythemia Vera Rates by County in Pennsylvania, 2001-2005 (per 100,000 persons/year)." The slide is shown below.

At the bottom of Slide 6, the legend indicates that the U.S. rate for PV for 2001-2005 was 0.9 per 100,000 and that the Pennsylvania rate for PV for 2001-2005 was 1.49 per 100,000. This clearly shows that the rate in Pennsylvania was 66% greater than the national rate (1.49/0.9 = 1.655). This is an alarming result. The entire state of Pennsylvania has a 66% elevated rate for this rare bone marrow cancer.

Now, let's look at the counties with the highest rates. Potter County had a rate 6.2 times the national rate (5.54/0.9 = 6.155); Somerset County, 5 times (4.54/0.9 = 5.04); Montour County 4.9 times (4.41/0.9 = 4.9); Luzerne County 4.7 times (4.2/0.9 = 4.67); and Schuylkill County 4.5 times the national rate (4.05/0.9 = 4.5).

Again, these are alarming rates. There are at least five counties in Pennsylvania with PV rates 4.5 times or greater than the national rate. Further, the Schuylkill County rate of 4.5 times and the Luzerne County rate of 4.7 times are very similar to the rate of 5 derived from the 131 cases of PV, as described above.

The dictionary describes an epidemic as a classification of a disease that appears as new cases in a given human population, during a given period, at a rate that substantially exceeds what is "expected," based on recent experience. By any definition, we now have evidence of a statewide cancer epidemic and the ATSDR and the PA DOH hardly acknowledge the problem.

At the October 24th meeting, officials from the PA DOH stated that they were committed to continue the monitoring of the situation. TRANSLATION: The PA DOH isn't going to do anything more than it has been doing, that is, collect the records of the people diagnosed with PV.

Officials for the ATSDR said that they were going to look at the collected exposure data to see if they could find a cause for the increase in the PV rate. TRANSLATION: The ATSDR wasn't planning on doing much since the existing exposure data is sparse and there was no indication that the ATSDR planned to collect any new data.

If PV were caused by the bite of a mosquito or a tick, there would be more public health officials in this area studying the problem than you could count. However, since we suspect that the PV is caused by a toxic exposure, there are few public health officials to be seen. The last thing that the government agencies want to do is link a cancer with a toxic exposure from a polluting industry.

The government believes that its primary purpose is to protect the polluting industries. However, the true primary purpose of government is to protect the health, safety and welfare of its citizens. The federal and state agencies aren't doing anything and neither are any of our elected officials. We would hope that you remember this inaction on the part of our elected officials the next time that they run for re-election.