Is the Environment Causing Childhood Cancer in the Washington DC Area?
A Study of Children and Possible Cancer Clusters (Washington, D.C.) – Could exposure to various pollutants in the air and water be causing cancer in children in the Washington, DC area? Researchers at Georgetown University Hospital are hoping that studying kids with cancer as well as healthy children in the metro area will begin to answer that question. Aziza Shad, MD, chief, pediatric hematology/oncology at Georgetown University Hospital’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and co-investigator in the study said, “As a pediatric oncologist this is an extremely important study. Parents always ask me WHY their child got cancer and we don’t know the answer. We do know that while outcomes for kids with cancer are getting better, we also know that childhood cancer is on the rise in the United States and other developed countries. We need to find out why.” The study’s Principal Investigator and epidemiologist at Georgetown University Medical Center Offie Soldin PhD said, “We are particular
